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No favour shown to any distillery: U.P.

Special Correspondent

Excise policy announced in 2001-02 still operational, says Chief Secretary

LUCKNOW: Reacting to reports appearing in a section of the Press about grant of favours to select distillery units, the Uttar Pradesh Government on Wednesday refuted the allegations and said there had been no bungling in the implementation of the Excise Policy.

Stating that no undue advantage had accrued to the distillery units and industrial houses in granting them licences for setting up new units in the State, Chief Secretary Naveen Chandra Bajpai and the Chief Minister's Principal Secretary, Anil Kumar, said the possibility of granting favours did not arise as no new policy had been announced and the Excise Policy announced in 2001-02 was still operational. "Hence it is incorrect to suggest that the implementation of the policy has not been transparent," Mr Bajpai said.

The Chief Secretary said that in the last five years there had been evasion of excise duty or revenue loss to the State exchequer. When the Excise Policy for 2001-02 was announced by the then Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government headed by Rajnath Singh, the practice of auctioning shops was scrapped and in its place the allottee had to pay a licence fee for getting a shop, he said. Besides, the excise duty was charged on the basis of the distillery units, the Chief Secretary added.

Mr Bajpai gave the excise revenue figures of the last five years to justify the Government's stand. He said that in 2001-02 the excise revenue amounted to Rs. 1963 crores as against the target of Rs. 2450 crore. The same policy continued in 2003-04 when against the target of Rs. 2460 crores, the excise revenue was Rs. 2556 crores, an increase of 30 per cent. From 2001-02 to 2005-06, the excise revenue had increased by Rs 1100 crores, of which Rs 600 crores was generated in 2004-05 and 2005-06 (during Mulayam Singh Yadav's regime). "This shows that the implementation of the policy has been transparent," Mr. Bajpai stated.

The Chief Secretary said that in the last five years licences had been issued for eight new distilleries with a total investment of Rs. 367 crores. The new units were: Palia in Kheri district -- licence given to Bajaj Hindustan for producing IMFL; Gorakhpur -- licence given to Indian Glycol Limited for producing IMFL; Barabanki -- licence given to Ultimate Industries for producing IMFL; Rampur -- to Radico Khaitan for industrial alcohol; Bijnor -- licence to Mohit Petrochem for industrial alcohol; Ghaziabad -- licence to Ghaziabad Organics for industrial alcohol; Meerut -- Bajaj Hindustan for industrial alcohol; and Saharanpur -- Shakumbari Sugar and Allied Industries for industrial alcohol.

The Chief Secretary said there were 47 distilleries in the State, while 20 units produced mixed alcohol, seven potable alcohol, 17 industrial alcohol and six were captive distilleries of industrial units.

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