Congress seeks proper auction of licenses for arrack shops

The opposition Congress today flayed the Rangasamy led AINRC government for adopting "deficient policy" in auctioning licenses for retail sale of arrack during the 2014-15 Excise year.
Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister, V Vaithilingam said against the normal practice of completing auction of licenses before June every year, this year auction for around 70 per cent of the total 101 arrack shops was not conducted before the prescribed deadline.
Even when no auction was held the sale of arrack was going on for the last one and half months beyond June 30 through these shops, he said and wanted to know who were operating the shops and earning money at the cost of revenue to the government.

The government should immediately intervene and rein in these businessmen and licenses for sale of the brew should be conducted, he said.
Around Rs 25 Crores had been lost to the government because of the lapse in conducting the auction properly. He alleged that favouritism shown to a section of businessmen was holding the exchequer to ransom.