The districts bordering Andhra Pradesh saw the most number of applicants.
File photo: PTI
The Telangana government has earned a record Rs 960.64 crore from the sale of application forms for liquor outlet licenses. The fees for the forms, which is necessary to apply for licences and was hiked to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1 lakh earlier, is non-refundable.
According to media reports, a record 48,032 applications were received for 2,116 wine shops across the state, with Khammam district receiving the highest number of applicants, at 4,303 forms for 89 liquor shops, followed by Kothagudem, which saw 3,410 applications for 76 shops.
The increase in applications is attributed to the move of the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh government, to crack down on liquor and bring in phased prohibition in the state. With this, many are hoping that people from Andhra Pradesh would travel to the bordering districts of Telangana for a drink.
Officials also said that liquor consumption in the state had risen.
“The increased consumption of liquor has obviously driven the increase in interest in the liquor business which is reflecting in the number of applications as well as fee collected,” an official of Excise Department told BusinessLine.
There was also a high demand for application forms in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas.
The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad received around 1,500 applications for close to 200 shops, which fetched the state government Rs 29.98 crore. The erstwhile Ranga Reddy district also saw several applicants.
On October 1, in a major step, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh took over all 3,500 liquor shops in the state. The shops are now open for only 9 hours, from 11 am to 8 pm and about 3,500 supervisors and 8,033 salesmen were recruited to run these outlets. They will be overseen by the government-owned Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL).
Read: Andhra may take over sale of alcohol in the state, but will it lead to prohibition?
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