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UP may soon have quotas in
allotment of liquor shops

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

After aggressively pursuing reservations for backward classes in every sphere of life, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is now contemplating quotas in allotment of liquor outlets as well.

The grapevine is that the chief minister is keen to break the monopoly of a few upper castes in the lucrative liquor trade.

"The issue is being closely studied by legal experts since it would involve amendment in the state's excise policy," a senior official told rediff.com.

If and when the idea gets translated into policy, 21 per cent of liquor shop allotments would be reserved for scheduled castes, two per cent for scheduled tribes and 21 per cent for backward castes.

Not only would the allotments in the reserved category take place independent of the allotments in the open category, the government proposes to introduce an independent free structure for the former.

Opposition to the proposal, expected to be brought before the state Cabinet later this month, is already building up. "We will not allow the government to get away with this drastic change...we will move the courts," said a liquor trader in Lucknow.

"It may not be easy for anyone and everyone to run this business since it involves huge investments," he said and added "for all you know, the allotments in the reserved category could end up with influential liquor cartels through benaami deals."

Only last week, Mayawati had announced reservations for patients in a proposed super-speciality medical centre.

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