The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, would carry out a study on Telangana State excise department’s successful crusade against illicit liquor. A two-member team from IIM, Lucknow, is in Hyderabad to study the methods and publish a paper on the best practices.
Earlier, the Maharashtra excise department had sent a team to study the method. In two years, over 80 persons controlling the illicit liquor rackets were booked under the PD Act, thus breaking the backbone of the organised gangs. Over 70,000 others were booked by the agency, bringing the manufacturing of ID liquor in the state to a complete halt. Black jaggery, the crucial raw material used in hooch, was also made unavailable in the state.
Excise commissioner Dr. R.V. Chandravadan said they are hoping to declare Telangana an ID-liquor free state by the 3rd state formation day on June 2 this year.
“We have built a map covering each village in Telangana. The gram sabha, sarpanch, village secretaries have to certify that a village is ID-free, and then this village would turn into a green dot from being a red dot on the map. A mandal would be declared ID-free when the tahsildar and the police sub-inspector declare it so. Finally, when 95 per cent of the revenue villages in the district are so declared, the collector along with the SP would jointly declare that district is ID-free. So far, eight out of 10 districts have turned green,” he said.
After the formation of the Telangana state, the government had decided to eradicate hooch. The excise department showed zero tolerance to people who manufacture, transport, and sell ID all over the state. The excise machinery was completely geared up for this purpose. The help of the local police and revenue officials was also taken, officials said.
