AP Liquor Shops: The exercise became successful with the issuance of caste-specific notification for liquor shops this week
AP Liquor Shops: A notification will soon be issued for liquor shops reserved for Geeta caste in AP. Private liquor shops have been selling in AP since October last year. The government managed liquor shops for five years during YCP rule. As soon as TDP came to power, it replaced government liquor shops with private shops through an auction process.
10 percent of the total shops are allotted to Geeta caste. Except 340 shops, the rest were auctioned. Notification will be issued within a week for the sub-castes adopting Geeta profession. In today’s cabinet meeting, a decision will be taken on allotment of liquor shops to the upper castes.
In the allotment of liquor shops, the idea was first to allot the shops on the basis of Geeta workers, but later it was decided to allot the shops on the basis of Geeta caste. Under the new liquor shop policy implemented in October last year, licenses were issued to 3,396 shops.
Notification will be issued soon for 10 percent shops reserved for Geeta caste. Out of total 340 shops, four shops are allotted separately to the Pondi caste. As per the promise of the Chief Minister, a shop will be allotted to the family. Notification will be issued for the allotment of the remaining 335 shops. Applicants for liquor shops will have to submit caste verification. Geeta caste shops will have to pay Rs 2 lakh as application fee. License fee of Rs 25 lakh will have to be paid.
District wise liquor shops.
14 in Anantapur, 9 in Sri Sathyasai, 11 in Annamayya, 10 in Chittoor, 13 in East Godavari, 16 in Kakinada, 13 in Konaseema, 12 in Bapat, 13 in Guntur, 13 in Palanadu, 14 in Cuddapah, 12 in Krishna, 11 in NTR, 10 in Kurnool, 10 in Nandya 11 shops in Nellore, 18 in Prakasha, 4 in Parvatipuram Manyam, 18 in Srikakulam, 15 in Anakapalle, 14 in Visakhapatnam, 16 in Vizianagaram, 14 in Eluru and 18 in West Godavari will be allotted to Geeta castes. There are no shops in Alluri district.
The Excise Department has collected the details of how many shops are to be allotted to the district on the basis of population of Geeta caste. In the Smart Pulse Survey conducted in 2016, caste-wise census was taken as the standard. Geeta castes in AP will be divided into three parts.
Geeta caste includes Yata in A-category, Gowda, Ediga, Gowda (Gamalla), Kalali, Gondla, Srisayana, Sondi and Shettibalija castes in B-category. Sondi caste has been shown separately in another category. It has been decided to allot shops district wise on the basis of population of that caste. The highest number of 23 shops belong to the Geeta caste in Tirupati district, while there is not even one in Alluri Sitamaraju district.
Although there is no objection to allotting shops to Geeta activists and castes, it is wrong to fix the license fee of liquor traders at Rs 25 lakh. MLAs from respective constituencies across the state are already operating liquor shops. There is no assurance that the people of Geeta caste will also get the newly allotted shops. Liquor business should be done by the people decided by the local public representative in every village.
On the other hand, there are rumblings that Geeta Jaati will not be spared due to the reduced license fee. It is alleged that the public representatives will take over these shops by intimidating them.