Chennai: Officials of the Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corporation Ltd (APBCL) from the neighbouring state have been visiting the city in the past three months, following the plan of taking over the liquor shops run by the private firms by the government.The officials are presently collecting administration tips from Tasmac outlets here. The decision is expected to be taken by June 25.
Andhra Pradesh at present has around 5,600 liquor shops spread across 14 districts. Of this, around 4,400 shops are run by private parties, while the rest function under the government’s APBCL. All the shops, functioning under government and private parties, follow the same regulations, including the pricing policy. Sources say the government and private firms earn a profit of Rs 13 in the sale of one bottle measuring 750 ml.
These shops function from 11 am to 10 pm. Two salesmen with class 10 qualification and one supervisor with class 12 qualification work in each shop. With the idea of increasing the revenue of the government, the APBCL officials recently planned to take over the private run liquor shops.
So, the officials are making several visits to Chennai to learn the functioning of the government-run shops and the advantages and disadvantages of the concept. Sources say that the officials of the neighbouring state are convinced about the viability of the scheme and will decide about the taking over the shops by June 25.
