GUWAHATI: The Assam government doesn't provide licenses to wine shops and bars just for revenue collection, clarified state Excise Minister Parimal Suklabaidya during the Assembly session on Wednesday.
He was replying to a written question by Congress leader Debabrat Saikia in the Assam Legislative Assembly.
"However, new licenses are provided based on the viability reports submitted by the district commissioners, apart from considering the growing urbanisation, development in tourism, and population growth of a place," Suklabaidya added.
"No new licenses were provided to IMFL 'OFF' shops since 2001. However, the Assam government provided licenses to 14 new IMFL 'OFF' shops based on the information on requirements received from the various districts," the excise minister added.
"Also, according to the Assam Budget for 2022–23, the bars in rural areas have been turned into wine shops," he said.
Presently, there are 1,708 IMFL wine shops and 863 bars in Assam.
It may be mentioned here that before BJP came to power in Assam in 2016, the state had 1,116 IMFL wine shops, 473 IMFL bars, 5 excise warehouses of country spirit, and 195 country liquor shops in the state.