Launch gets longer as... Minister sits tight on micro-breweries file

Hyderabad: The launch of micro-breweries has hit a roadblock with the Excise and Prohibition Minister Jupally Krishna Rao sitting on the relevant file for almost a month now. In a good response, 127 applications were received from liquor traders intending to open such units within the limits of six municipal corporations and urban local bodies in the core urban region of Hyderabad.

Soon after receiving bids, the Minister instructed excise officials to send all tender applications to his office in the Secretariat. According to official protocol, the Excise Commissioner is the competent authority to scrutinize the tenders and finalise bids in accordance with government guidelines.

However, in this case, officials said that the Minister was keeping the entire tender applications with him and there was no communication between him and the Excise Commissioner office in the last one month.

“Ever since the principal secretary (Excise) S M Rizvi quit the job unable to bear pressure from the Minister’s office, Krishna Rao has not been friendly with the excise wing’s top officials. The Minister has been summoning officials and seeking every single information as regards excise revenues, liquor sales, the recently held tendering process for liquor shops and the long-pending payments to breweries and distilleries. The Minister was so unhappy with the replies from officials that he has not resolved any of their issues, including the micro-breweries file,” official sources told The Hans India.

It must be noted that the state government had invited applications to set up micro-breweries in Boduppal, Jawaharnagar, Peerzadiguda, Nizampet, Badangpet, Bandlaguda Jagir, and Meerpet municipal corporations in core urban region and municipal corporations in Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Adilabad and Warangal. This was to boost small-scale breweries which produce craft beer in limited quantities, focusing on quality and unique flavours.

Officials said that the state government has set a target of Rs 30,000 crore revenue from liquor sales in the 2025-2026 financial year.

The Excise Department is struggling to achieve the revenue targets every month due to various reasons. Establishing micro-breweries is intended to generate additional revenue.

In fact, the government was expecting a monthly revenue of Rs 50 crore from micro-breweries.

Excise officials are on tenterhooks as they are unsure of convincing the Minister to clear the file, finalise the tenders and open them across municipal corporations in time for the New Year revelry.