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Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh on Tuesday said that the state was “moving towards” prohibition, and that the his government had closed all liquor shops in villages which have a population above 3,000. Senior government officials, however, said that this was not different from the government’s stated position and that it would continue to sell liquor from state-run shops, a decision that came into effect on April 1.
Speaking to reporters in Bihar, where he was on a two-day trip, Singh said, “We are moving towards it. We have removed kochias (middlemen) and thekedars (contractors) that the people in villages opposed. The government is running alcohol shops and in all villages which have a population above 3,000, the sale has been stopped.”
Senior government officials said that this was not a departure from the stated position and was “nothing new”. “The decision to stop all shops in villages above 3,000 people was announced in the budget. The government has formed a corporation and is selling alcohol on its own… An 11-member team has been formed to travel to various states to study the liquor policy, and that will give a report,” a senior official in the CM’s secretariat said.
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