Liquor shop applications dip in Karimnagar, revenue too

Liquor shop license applications in erstwhile Karimnagar district dropped by over 3,600 this term despite a fee hike, with the government collecting nearly the same revenue as the previous round. The deadline has been extended to October 23.

Karimnagar: A total of 7,079 applications have been filed for liquor shops across the erstwhile Karimnagar district, marking a decline of 3,630 compared to the previous licensing round.

Despite the fall in applications, there has been not much change in revenue collected, even though the application fee was raised from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. During the last term, the State government had earned Rs 214.18 crore from application fees. In fact, despite the fee hike this time around, it collected a little less, Rs 212 crore.

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In 2023–2025, authorities received 10,709 applications for 287 wine shops. The number has now fallen to 7,079 for the upcoming 2025–2027 term. Although the government extended the deadline for submitting applications till October 23, by Saturday, the previous cut-off date, 3,630 fewer applications had been received.

In Karimnagar division, 2,635 applications were filed for 94 shops, against 4,040 in 2023. Jagtial recorded 1,766 applications for 71 shops, compared to 2,616 earlier. Peddapalli received 1,354 applications for 74 shops, down from 2,020, while Rajanna-Sircilla saw 1,324 applications for 48 shops, compared to 2,033 previously.