Threats by criminal gangs: Haryana struggles to garner revenue from liquor-vend auctions as bidders dry up

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

With the shadow of criminals looming large over the liquor trade in the state, the BJP led Haryana government faces the challenge of accomplishing its excise revenue target of ₹14,063.91 crore from the sale of liquor for 2025-26 financial year. Even after completion of five rounds of bidding, liquor contractors in 20 districts, reeling from a recent killing and threats by criminal gangs, have shown reluctance to bid for 260 pending retail liquor zones. The reserve price of the pending 260 zones is about ₹3,980 crore.
The June 13 killing of a liquor contractor in Kurukshetra by gangsters, indiscriminate firing at a liquor vend in Rohtak on May 26 where the assailants threatened the contractor not to participate in the bidding for allotment of liquor vends for 2025-27, opening of fire outside a liquor vend on April 8 in Yamunanagar have left liquor contractors petrified and thus affected the business sentiment. So far, the state government has been able to allot 934 retail liquor zones across 22 districts. Each zone consisted of a liquor vend each for selling Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) and country liquor.
Chief minister asks DGP to take action against gangsters
Chief minister Nayab Saini on Tuesday evening held a high-level review meeting to assess the law-and-order situation in the context of the setbacks during the excise auctions. The chief minister expressed concern over the killing of a liquor contractor in Kurukshetra and directed the director general of police (DGP) to act firmly. The DGP was also asked to take steps to provide security to everyone who gets threats and extortion calls.
The chief minister, it seems, realises that a shortfall in the excise duty receipts will adversely affect execution of BJP's poll promise of providing monthly financial assistance of ₹2,100 to every woman in the state under the Lado Lakshmi Yojana. The pre-poll pacifier is likely to cost the state exchequer anything between ₹17,640 crore to ₹23,940 crore.
Bijender, uncle of the deceased liquor contractor, Shantanu and a partner in the family's liquor business said that they received calls from criminals who threatened them not to participate in the bidding for liquor vends in Yamunanagar. 'Our partner, Mahender Rana also received such threat calls,' he said. Bijender told HT that his nephew, Shantanu had also received threat calls from gangsters last year. 'He had applied for an arms licence about six months back. The application is still pending with the office of SP, Kurukshetra,' he said.
'Shantanu was asked not to bid for a retail liquor zone in Kurukshetra last year. The gangsters said that they wanted a particular individual, one of their own probably, to get that retail liquor zone allotted. So, we did not participate. But the person who got that zone allotted was never investigated by the police,' said a member of the family of the deceased.
Most of the liquor contractors HT spoke to preferred not to be named fearing reprisal by the gangsters. A contractor who was allotted vends in a national capital region (NCR) district said that it was primarily due to huge financial investment and fear of criminals that the contractors are disinclined to take risks by participating in bidding. 'The area of our operation is still trouble free. So, we took a calculated risk,' he said. 'Many contractors are so scared of the threats that they do not even want to report the matter,' said another contractor
Excise officials told HT that 794 retail liquor zones were allotted in the first round of bidding from May 26 to May 31. In the second round of bidding from June 3 to June 6, 103 zones were allotted. 'But only 29 zones could be allotted in the third round on June 9, only two zones in the fourth round on June 10 and six zones were allotted in the fifth round on June 13,' said an official expressing dismay at the turn of events.
Statistics tells a different story
Excise officials, however, said they expect that the pending 260 retail liquor zones will also get allotted. An official spokesperson on Tuesday said the state government has been able to auction majority of the excise zones (934) so far and secure significantly higher revenue of ₹11,054 crore as compared to last year's ₹5,037 crores. 'The excise auctions have so far attracted good response,' the spokesperson said.
However, liquor trade analysts said that it is irrational to compare the licence fee realised for 2025-27 policy with the revenue receipts earned from licence fee of corresponding zones in 2024-25.
'The present policy is applicable for 21 months and 20 days starting from June 12, 2025 to March 31, 2027 and the licence fee of ₹11,054 crore earned in the five rounds of auctions is for the same period spread over two financial years. So, this amount cannot be compared with the 2024-25 revenue earned from licence fee which was for a 12-month period. The ₹11,054 crore earned so far as licence fee will be paid in monthly instalments over 21 months,'' said a trade analyst not willing to be quoted. The excise policy lays down that 91% of the bid money shall be payable by the successful contractor in monthly instalments.
Sensing the difficult situation, the state government had on May 20 amended the 2025-27 excise policy approved by the Council of Ministers on May 5 to ease the bidding process. The amended policy relaxed the stipulation of depositing 15% of the bid money or licence fee as security fee by reducing it to 11%.