UP babus blame Haryana for illegal liquor inflow

NOIDA: Logistically hard-pressed to tackle the flow of illegal liquor into the state, the UP excise department on Sunday blamed Haryana for not taking on liquor mafia in order to fill its coffers.
There are 15 people working in the district excise department who work in three shifts of five. "We have asked for an increase in manpower as criminals engaged in illegal supply are very active.The proposal is pending with the department," said a senior excise official.
Officials said that illegal liquor was being smuggled into western UP by Haryana-based operatives and claimed more than 90% of seizures came from the neighbouring state. They blamed Haryana government for intentionally opening liquor shops in villages which shared borders with UP, making smuggling favourable as alcohol was cheaper in Haryana.
"The Haryana excise department has opened wine shops close to the state border in places like Atta Gujran, Wazidpur, Bhaipur, Mehandipur-Khadar, Makanpur. Since excise duty is less and liquor is cheap, UP residents prefer buying alcohol coming in from Haryana. Depending on the brand, there is difference of Rs 40 - 1,500," said Singh.
Singh said that alcohol sales formed a sizeable portion of the Haryana government's revenue. "Through various platforms, the issue has been raised but it has all been in vain so far," Singh added.
According to reports, Haryana's Excise and Taxation Department collected revenue of Rs 19,703.64 crore in 2012-13 against Rs 18,077 crore collected over the previous financial year. The finance department has set a target of Rs 23,500 crore for 2013-14.
Because of Haryana-based smugglers, UP Excise Department claimed that it was losing revenue despite excise typically being among the state government's biggest revenue earners. Against a target of Rs.12,500 crore in 2013-14, excise earnings at the close of the financial year on March 31, 2014, are estimated to be Rs.11,875 crore. The excise policy for the years 2014-15 and 2015-16, approved recently by the cabinet, has set targets of Rs 14,500 crore and Rs.17,500 crore respectively.
A senior official of Haryana excise department countered the allegation by saying that his counterparts in UP had failed to achieve their targets and were now making excuses.