HYDERABAD: After liquor shops, the state government will extend reservations for Backward Classes (Goud community), Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for setting up bars in the state.
Replying to questions raised by various members in the Legislative Assembly during Question Hour on Monday, excise minister V. Srinivas Goud said the new policy extending reservations for liquor shops and bars would be launched soon.
He said the state government had recently issued orders extending reservations for Gouds, SCs and STs while granting licences to set up liquor shops in the state and the same would be implemented for bars as well.
Goud said these reservations would help these communities become economically stronger. He stated that reservations were so far confined to only education and employment but the Telangana government was the only state in the country which introduced reservations to set up businesses.
The new excise policy is due for implementation from November 1 and fresh licences will be issued for liquor shops and bars for a period of two years. As part of the policy, the state Cabinet recently approved 30 per cent reservations to Gouds, SCs and STs in giving licences for setting up liquor shops in the state. Of this, 15 per cent quota was earmarked for Gouds, 10 per cent for SCs and 5 per cent for STs.
The state currently has 2,216 liquor shops and 1,100 bars. The government is planning to determine reservations district-wise and allot shops through the draw of lots. The existing licences were issued in October 2019 for a two-year
period valid till October 31, 2021.
Although the new licences should be issued before November 1, the government recently extended the existing licences by one more month till November 30 after liquor shops and bar owners requested extension stating that they had incurred loss in business for three months due to Covid lockdowns and restrictions from March 2020.
