Bhubaneswar: Amid growing demand for complete ban on sale of liquor in the state, Excise Minister Niranjan Pujari told the Assembly Monday that the government doesn’t have even any plan to ban it.
In a written reply to a question of MLA Nityananda Gond, Pujari said, “The state doesn’t have any proposal under examination to make Odisha a ‘Liquor Free State’.”
Giving explanation to his statement, he said there is possibility that illicit liquor may come to Odisha as neghibouring states and many other states of this country have not banned the liquor sale.
The government cannot rule out that illicit liquor traders will not take the advantages of the situation to expand their base in the state, he added.
The liquor addicts may face health hazards after taking illicit liquor if liquor becomes unavailable at licensed shops, the minister advocated.
A few days ago, the excise minister had informed the House that the there was a three-fold increase in collection of excise revenue in state in the past 10 years.