Forget ‘Liquor Ban’ touted by CM YS Jagan, the YSRCP government seems to be in the mood to increase the number of bars in AP. Currently, the state has 840 bars and the Government is planning to give licenses to another 150 new ones. The licenses for the existing bars were given based on the 2011 census. As the population has grown in these nine years, Jagan’s government has decided to give new licenses as per the new census. As the pandemic has shown its rampage over the financial sources of the state, there is no other alternative for the government other than increasing liquor consumption in order to pay salaries and rolling out welfare schemes.
Bar licenses in AP range anywhere from Rs. 21-50 lakhs based on the location. The license fee in Municipalities costs Rs. 21 lakhs whereas it increases to Rs. 50 lakhs in corporations. Owners need to renew their licenses every year and an additional 20% is added as ‘COVID’ tax this year. As the bar owners are already deep in losses due to the closure of bars from the last six months, they are said to be in dilemma whether to go for renewal or not.
Telangana liquor is being brought into Andhra Pradesh illegally. Smugglers are having gala time minting money. It is showing a profound impact on bars that are nearer to the border as people are simply crossing into Telangana and buying liquor for half the price. This has forced Abkari officials to come forward and request bar owners to renew their licenses by promising to control the liquor flow from Telangana. They are even setting targets to their subordinates, pushing district level officers behind bar owners for the renewals. Sources say that some of these officials are investing in the licenses by employing benami persons. Let’s see how people will respond to YSRCP government’s decision to increase the bars after the much touted ‘liquor ban’ promise was made. For now, AP government will be happy if people eat, drink and make merry without crossing borders.
