Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials to ensure that Ganja should be out of bounds to students and youth. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has convened a review meeting of revenue generating departments, including Excise, Mines, and Panchayat Raj, at the Camp Office here on Thursday.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that liquor consumption has come down due to steep hikes in prices and the shutting down of belt shops. “Those who are into brewing illicit liquor and cultivating ganja should be shown alternative sources of employment and encouraged self-employment”, he told the officials.
The officials informed the Chief Minister that consumption of alcohol has come down from 384.31 lakh cases in 2018- 19 to 278.5 lakh cases in 2021-22. The sales of beer for the same period have come down from 277.10 lakh cases to 82.6 lakh cases. The revenue has gone up from Rs 20,128 crores to Rs 25,023 crores for the same period due to steep hikes in prices.
In all 20,127 cases were registered, 16,027 were arrested and 1407 vehicles were seized in cases of illicit liquor. On 2500 acres people shifted other crops while steps are being taken for horticulture on another 1600 acres, the officials said. The Chief Minister said to the officials that ACB toll-free number 14400 should be dis- played in all government offices. These boards should be on display from Village Secretariat to Collector’s Office, from the police station to SP Office and at PDS shops as well, he said.
Deputy Chief Minister K Narayanaswamy, Ministers Dharmana Prasada Rao, Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy, P Viswaroop, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, DGP KV Ravindernath Reddy, and Environment Special CS Neerab Kumar were among those who were present.
