Opinion: Liquor Politics On Eve Of Elections In AP

By Syed Amin Jafri (Guest Writer)

With the Assembly elections less than a year away, political parties in the state are back to their favourite game of playing “liquor politics.” This time, they are not talking about imposing “total prohibition” again but they would like to check the “liquor menace” by closing down belt shops! Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy set the ball rolling last month by asking the prohibition and excise department officials to launch a drive for closure of belt shops. Promptly, leader of opposition and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu promised to impose a ban on belt shops if his party regains power in the next elections. 
Other political parties, too, joined the chorus for shutting down belt shops which have mushroomed in every village and hamlet in the state. One estimate shows that there is a belt shop for every 70 families, or a staggering three lakh vends in the state. The number of licensed retail outlets is only 5,979. Thus, each auctioned liquor shop has an average of 50 belt shops. The kirana shops in the villages double up as “belt shops” for vending liquor. Another 1,458 bars serve liquor in municipal areas in the state. Truly, liquor business is big business. No wonder, AP tops the country in liquor consumption. 
    
The state also holds the dubious distinction of clamping and lifting prohibition whenever it suited the powers-thatbe. Prohibition was clamped in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema area in 1937 during the British era. It remained in force in the Andhra state and later in Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh till October 1969. Incidentally, prohibition was lifted from Seemandhra region on AP Formation Day, November 1, that year. After about 23 years, a group of women launched a protest against arrack in Dubbagunta village in Nellore district. The agitation soon spread to the entire state with the TDP seizing the opportunity. The then Congress government imposed a ban on arrack in Nellore district in April 1993 and in the entire state in October that year. N T Rama Rao wrested power from the Congress in 1994 elections on the plank of “total prohibition.” 
    
NTR imposed total prohibition, except on toddy, in the state from January 16, 1995. During the short period when total prohibition was in force, the state witnessed the growing menace of illicit liquor, smuggling of liquor from across the borders and umpteen liquor deaths. N Chandrababu Naidu regime partially lifted prohibition by permitting the sale of Indian Made Liquor and beer from April 1, 1997. The Congress regained power in 2004 polls by promising free power to farmers and it deliberately avoided inclusion of prohibition in its election manifesto. 
    
Again, in 2008, a few months before 2009 elections, TDP sought to revive the prohibition slogan by launching an anti-liquor movement. Roja was in the forefront of this campaign. The issue failed to impact the elections and the Congress retained power. Now, when the next elections to the Assembly are a few months away, TDP and other parties are seeking to capitalize on the issue of mushrooming of belt shops to garner women’s votes. The campaign against belt shops is likely to reach a crescendo as the poll campaign draws near. But, AP has disappointed the country by frequently changing its liquor policy and throwing prohibition to the winds at the slightest opportunity. 
    
The reason for the love of liquor for successive governments is obvious. Excise department is the goose that lays golden eggs for the state exchequer. AP Beverages Corporation was started in 1986 and the wholesale trade of IML and beer was entrusted to it in 1994. This is one corporation which is raking in moolah. Its turnover shot up from Rs 1,105 crore in 1994-95 to Rs 18,110 crore in 2012-13. The turnover is likely to soar to Rs 21,045 crore in the current year. State excise revenues have increased from Rs 8,257 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 11,115 crore in 2012-13. 
    
The vision of prohibition & excise department, in its own words, is “to maintain a healthy growth in excise revenue of the state, consistently, by promoting responsible management of the liquor industry through regulation of production and consumption of liquor.” Its mission is “to optimize collection of revenue, regulate transparent and equitable allocation of licenses for sale of liquor and to raise awareness and educate the people on the tenets of safe consumption.” Where does prohibition figure in all this, you may wonder.