:dateline:The Election Commission of India has given its nod to the Punjab government to go ahead with the allotment of liquor vends.
�Election Commission has given clearance to the Punjab government to proceed with the allotment of liquor vends in the state,� State Excise and Taxation Commissioner Anurag Verma said.
Stating that the state government received an �unprecedented� response for liquor vends, Verma said the department received�? 2.67 billion� as application money which was�? 700 million more than what it received last year.
This year, the govt fixed an ambitious target of�? 2.50 billion towards application money. Verma said that one of the main reasons behind the increase in application money was the decision of the department to bring in greater transparency by roping in banks.
The excise and taxation department authorized State Bank of Patiala, Axis Bank, and ICICI Bank to collect applications on its behalf. Verma said that a sufficient number of applications had been received for all the 435 groups, meaning that all the liquor vends would be sold in one go. Verma said that against total revenue of�? 39.5 billion during 2013-14, a revenue of ? Rs 4700 billion was expected during the 2014-15, which is an increase of�? 7.5 billion
