‘Coming soon to Punjab, exclusive breweries’

“Previously, beer was sold in various stores where other types of spirits are available, but many people in modern society do not like to visit such places. Therefore, it has been decided to allow the opening of exclusive breweries,” said Cheema.

On March 10, the Cabinet approved an excise policy for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which aims to raise Rs 9,754 crore.

Speaking to reporters on the completion of a year of the AAP government in office here, Cheema said that there was an increase of around 45 percent in excise revenue due to the excise policy introduced by the government. of the AAP for the year 2022-23. He said that excise revenue increased to more than Rs 9,000 crore in 2022-23 from Rs 6,100 crore in the previous fiscal year. He attributed the jump in revenue to ending the liquor mafia in the state.

Cheema, who also has the excise and tax portfolio, said a total of 6,317 FIRs were registered against those who sold illicit liquor.

More than 6,000 people involved in the illicit trafficking of alcoholic beverages were detained, he said.

More than 1.48 lakh liters of illicit liquor and 1.74 lakh liters of ‘lahan’ (raw material for illicit liquor) were seized, it said.

Cheema further said that the state has witnessed a 23 percent increase in the collection of taxes on goods and services.

Responding to a question about the old pension plan (OPS), he said that the state government has already formed two committees, one led by him and one led by the chief secretary at the civil service level regarding the OPS.

Stating that the OPS launched by the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh will “fail”, Cheema said: “We will bring a scheme that will not cause any financial loss and the employees will get their pension.”

He said that the previous Congress had taken a loan of Rs 2 lakh crore in five years. He paid Rs 1.03 lakh crore but added Rs 99,000 crore to the state debt. “We have paid Rs 36,000 crore of that debt. We are paying for the misdeeds of the previous governments,” he said.

Criticizing successive governments for bringing Punjab to the brink of disaster, Cheema said that Congress and SAD-BJP Governments sponsored gangsters, mafia and corruption while forcing Punjabis to migrate abroad.

He said that the Mann government has laid the foundation for a new and progressive Punjab and all major election promises have been fulfilled. “Mann’s first year government shows seriousness, diligence and dedication towards Punjab.”

Cheema said it was the first time a government had made serious efforts to promote no-till rice and Moong cultivation in a bid to save the state’s air, water and soil. He said these efforts have resulted in a 30 percent decrease in stubble burning. He said that it was the first time that a Punjab Chief Minister has taken a strong position on the SYL issue, while previous CMs were paying lip service or doing politics on this issue.

He said the collection of app wings jumped to Rs 173.27 crore till Feb 2023 compared to Rs. Rs 147.89 crore till February 2022.

Answering a question about the opposition’s accusation of “political vendetta”, Cheema said that if action was being taken against corrupt leaders, then it would be called a political vendetta and anyone found to be involved in such practices would not be spared.