E-lottery for allocating liquor, bhang shops: Cabinet okays excise policy

The Cabinet also gave the go-ahead for the Assembly session from February 18. The budget will be tabled on the floor of the House two days later, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna on Thursday said.

The meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was held late Wednesday, it is learnt.

Talking to media on Thursday, Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal said, “All country liquor shops, composite shops, model shops, and cannabis shops in the state will be allocated through an e-lottery system instead of the renewal process followed earlier.”

Under the excise policy, the state government has set a revenue target of Rs 55,000 crore, which is Rs 4,000 crore more than the previous financial year. Also, the new policy prevents any individual or firm from holding more than two licences.

Foreign liquor will also be available in 60 ml and 90 ml packs, a feature not previously offered. The policy has a provision for composite shops where both foreign liquor and beer will be available, Agrawal informed. So far, the beer shops were allotted separately. Agarwal said under the new system, an applicant can submit only one application, and no individual will be allotted more than two shops across the state.

On the introduction of “composite shops”, Agarwal said this will allow consumers to purchase all types of alcoholic beverages from one shop. If an existing beer and foreign liquor shop are located adjacent to each other, they will be merged into a single outlet, he said. The government has categorised processing fees into five slabs. The first category, he said, covers areas under  Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, and Kanpur development authorities, including a 3-km around their municipal limits.

The processing fee for country liquor shops in these areas has been fixed at Rs 65,000, composite shops at Rs 90,000, model shops at Rs 1 lakh, and cannabis shops at Rs 25,000, he said.

The second category includes large cities not covered in the first, along with a 3-km surrounding area. Fees for country liquor shops here will be Rs 60,000, composite shops Rs 85,000, model shops Rs 90,000 and cannabis shops Rs 25,000, he said. The third category covers municipalities and 3-km radius. Fee for country, composite, model and cannabis shops will be Rs 50,000, Rs 75,000 and Rs 80,000 and Rs 25,000. The fourth category is of nagar panchayat areas and their 3-km radius. Fees for country, composite, model and cannabis shops will be Rs 45,000, Rs 65,000 and Rs 70,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.