The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Total prohibition may not help: Rosaiah

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 25, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Total prohibition may not help: Rosaiah

By Our Staff Reporter

GUNTUR, SEPT. 24. The State Government did not believe in total prohibition, as the move had been a failure all over the country, said the Minisiter for Finance, K. Rosaiah. But, the Government proposes a phased reduction of unauthorised cheap liquor shops along with a sustained campaign to wean away people from the habit, he added.

New excise policy

The new excise policy would be announced in a week as the new excise year begins on October 1, he said at a press conference here on Friday. A nine-man Cabinet sub-committee headed by Mr. Rosaiah would discuss all aspects of liquor sales and steps taken to remove cheap liquor shops popularly known as `belt shops,' he added.

When asked about his criticism of the Telugu Desam Party on lifting of `total prohibition', he said he had only pointed out their inability to implement plans, but had never advocated `total prohibition'.

Free power to stay

"The free power policy for farmers is definitely a heavy burden on the exchequer, but we do not propose to review the policy now and there is no pressure from the World Bank to discontinue it," he said. Divergent views were being expressed on the policy and the Government had noticed that some affluent farmhouse owners and landlords were taking benefit of the scheme, he added.

"It is a political experiment and we will continue it for some time as we believe this will benefit large section of the society. However, we are open to suggestions," he said. "We have made a budgetary provision of Rs. 400 crores and if need be, we will allocate more," Mr. Rosaiah announced.

The Government would continue to provide 50,000 new agriculture power connections and provide a subsidy of Rs.10 to subscribers who paid only Rs.25 per month as power charges excluding other charges, he added.

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