AP not to operate liquor shops, govt outlets to be auctioned

Hyderabad, Nov 7: Realising that selling liquor is not easy, Andhra Pradesh government has decided to auction off 438 liquor outlets it was operating in the state till now. Of the 4,380 liquor outlets in the state, the state government had earlier decided to operate 10 per cent (438) of them. the remaining 3,942 shops were allotted to private parties through drawl of lots system. All these months, the government outlets were selling liquor at MRP rates forcing the private players to do the same, who thereby incurred heavy losses. Therefore, sources said, the private players are said to have brought pressure on the state government urging it to dispose of the state-run liquor outlets. Accordingly, in the last cabinet meeting, the state cabinet is said to have decided to sell the outlets on the pretext that the performance of the government outlets has not reached expectations. The government has therefore issued directions to the excise commissioner and he is likely to release a notification today for the auction of the government-run liquor outlets.