The Government of Andhra Pradesh is set to introduce a new liquor policy on October 1. Ahead of this, the cabinet sub-committee formed for the liquor policy held a meeting with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu today.
Speaking to the media, the sub-committee, consisting of Ministers Kollu Ravindra, Nadendla Manohar, Satyakumar, and Kondapalli Srinivas, stated that they gathered reports from various sectors regarding the new policy, which will be presented at the cabinet meeting tomorrow.
It was stated that the previous YCP government introduced J-Brand liquor to Andhra Pradesh. “They launched their own brands and did not allow multinational brands to enter the state. As a result, leaders pocketed the money, and the public’s health was ruined. Therefore, the current government has decided to change the liquor policy,” stated the committee members.
Minister Kollu Ravindra mentioned that a special brand would be introduced, affordable even for common people. He also noted complaints about the high prices of liquor in 3 and 4-star hotels and assured that the Tourism and Excise Departments would work together to resolve the issue.
Ravindra further stated that liquor would be made available through smart stores in cities with high populations. The government also decided to allocate 10% of wine shops to people from the toddy tapper community (Kallu Geetha Karmikulu).
The sub-committee will present the new liquor policy at the cabinet meeting tomorrow. Once approved by the cabinet, the policy will be implemented from October 1.
