For S. Kondamma from Anantagiri mandal, B. Prasad from Araku mandal and B. Sanyasi from Sileru, all in the Agency area of Visakhapatnam district, it brought no joy to hear Collector N. Yuvaraj selecting them in the draw of lots for liquor licences on Monday.
The three are small-time farmers and the lottery held no meaning for them. When congratulated for winning a liquor licence and asked how she would raise the money for the fee, Kondamma said didn’t have to. She was only a proxy. Her name had been put in the application form by someone. “I’ve got to go home now and tend to my cattle,” she said.
There were many proxies like Kondamma in this year’s liquor jamboree. They seem to have boosted the application numbers this year.
Agreeing that the figure has gone up due to proxies, Excise Commissioner Srinivas Sri Naresh told The Hindu that the draw of lots system tends to bring in proxies. With only a limited number of vends on offer, liquor traders try to beat the odds by making proxies file applications.
Liquor traders also got round another rule in the new liquor policy, under which bidders have to be income-tax payers. So many traders got their proxies to file IT returns even if they didn’t have the income for it. “It is just a matter of paying Rs. 2,000 to get an IT return filed,” said a senior excise official.
