India News | Chhattisgarh Govt to Increase Additional Excise Duty on Liquor

Raipur, Jul 14 (PTI) Liquor will get costlier in Chhattisgarh, as the state government has decided to increase the additional excise duty on alcoholic beverages, state Minister Mohammed Akbar said on Thursday.

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A decision in this regard was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel here during the day, he said.

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Speaking to reporters here, the state forest minister said the cabinet has given its nod to the new fisheries policy replacing the existing one and its details will be presented in the state Assembly scheduled to be held from July 20. The cabinet has given a nod to increase additional excise duty on liquor in order to meet the excise revenue target for 2022-23, to fund the development of 'gauthans' (places in villages where animals are kept in day time, which are being developed as rural industrial parks by the government) and other development activities, Akbar said.

Earlier, the additional excise duty was Rs 5 per bottle of liquor, which will now be Rs 10, he said.

The minister further said a proposal for the formation of the District Strike Force (DSF) cadre by dissolving the sanctioned posts of assistant constables in the state has also been approved.

The move will remove the discrepancies related to the salary of assistant constables, he said.

The cabinet has also approved a proposal to increase the limit under the voluntary grant of the chief minister from Rs 40 crore to Rs 70 crore per annum, he said.

In other decisions, the cabinet decided to provide standalone rolling mills under HV-4 category steel industry with concession in energy cess under a special relief package of the state government from July 1 till March 31 next year, so that it may sustain the competition despite the challenges of economic slowdown, he said.

The cabinet has approved the Chhattisgarh Ground Water (Management and Regulation) Bill-2022 and the draft of the amendment bill, 2022 under the Chhattisgarh Ministers (Salaries and Allowances) Act, 1972, Akbar added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)