Hyderabad: The cash-starved government of Telangana will be richer by over Rs 150 crore with the setting up of 159 new bars across the state. The revenues earned through application fees and licence fees to set up the new bars is expected to cross Rs 135 crore in a week. Of this, the government has already earned over Rs 73 crore through application fees alone.
As per norms, the applicants need to pay Rs 1 lakh (non-refundable) deposit to the government to submit applications. Such was the rush to set up new bars that the government received 7,360 applications for setting up 159 bars, when the deadline to submit applications ended on Monday. Of this, 5,311 applications came on the last day alone.
Following the huge response, the government late on Tuesday issued orders extending the application deadline by a week until February 16. The government hopes to earn nearly Rs 100 crore towards application fees.
The government had on January 25 issued a notification seeking applications to set up 159 bars. Of this, 55 will be permitted in GHMC limits, while 19 in GHMC periphery and the rest in districts. Telangana already has 800 bars and 27 clubs that serve liquor besides 2,144 liquor shops that sell various liquor brands.
The licence fee varies from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 49 lakh, depending on the population in municipalities and municipal corporations. In the GHMC limits, the licence fees is Rs 49 lakh. The excise department hopes to earn over Rs 63 crore through licence fees alone, at an average of Rs 40 lakh per bar.
The bars will be allocated through a draw of lots, organised by the collector concerned in districts on February 18, while the excise director will preside over it for the GHMC limits on February 19.
The state government’s earnings through liquor has more than doubled since the formation of Telangana as a separate state in 2014. In the first year of formation of state, the government earned excise revenue of Rs 10,813 crore in 2014-15, an increase of Rs 1,000 crore compared with Rs 9,800 crore earned in 2013-14, a year before the formation of the state.
It further increased to Rs 20,000 crore in 2018 and Rs 25,000 crore in 2019. The figures for 2020 are yet to be released and it is expected that the excise revenue will touch Rs 30,000 crore.
The excise revenue contribution to the overall state revenue was just 26 per cent in 2013-14 in undivided AP, a year prior to formation of TS. It rose sharply by 65 per cent after the formation of Telangana, clearly reflecting how the TS government was encouraging people to spend on liquor.
