Himachal govt earned Rs 91 cr from milk cess on liquor: Industries minister

Himachal Pradesh government earned Rs 90.78 crore from milk cess of Rs 10 per bottle on liquor and the figure is likely to touch Rs 100 crore, Industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said on Monday.

The state government earned Rs 90.78 crore from milk cess on liquor till January 31, 2024, Chauhan said during the Question Hour in Vidhan Sabha.

Replying to a question of Randhir Sharma (BJP) and Kewal Singh Pathania (Congress), on behalf of the chief minister, the minister said that the money would be used for increasing the income of milk producers and strengthening the milk sector infrastructure.

He said that the liquor vends in 2023-24 were allotted through Auction-cum-Tenders and the reserve price was kept at Rs 1,446 crore but the actual auction amount was Rs 1,815 crore which was 40 per cent more as compared to the previous year (2022-23).

The income from excise from the new policy increased by Rs 515 crore and against a target of Rs 2,350.81 crore from Excise policy, revenue of Rs 2,187 crore was collected up to January 31, 2024, he said, adding that total tax collection by the state Excise and Taxation department during the financial year 2023-24 was Rs 8,533.17 crore till January end.

Ayush Minister Yadevendra Goma informed the house in reply to a question of Satpal Singh Satti (BJP) that the students admitted through NEET in government Ayurvedic colleges are given stipend of Rs 10,000 during the internship.

Industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan told Janak Raj (BJP) and Rajinder Rana (congress) that the government was serious about giving jobs on compassionate grounds to all eligible persons and a Cabinet Sub-committee has been constituted to remove the intricacies and the report of the committee would be submitted soon.

The government is collecting the information about jobs on compassionate grounds and as soon as the information is collected, it would be made available, he added.