Bangalore: Renukacharya Plans Excise Bhavan in City, Excise Academy in Tumkur

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Jul 8: Karnataka’s Excise Minister M P Renukacharya has now come up with two ambitious projects. First, he wants to establish a State-level Academy for training the excise department staff. The second project is build a well-equipped Excise Bhavan to house all departmental buildings.

Speaking to reporters, after a review meeting with the Department’s Inspectors of the entire Bangalore Division, the minister said the proposed Academy would be on the lines of the one existing for the police force and revealed that it was likely to be set up in Tumkur in the 70-acre plot belonging to the Department at Sira in Tumkur.

Though he declined to spell out a time-frame for completion of the project, Renukacharya said the Department had an allocation of Rs 100 crore for modernisation in terms of equipping the staff with wireless, GPS, fire-arms and modern vehicles and part of the funds would come from that allocation.

The Academy would provide training and other programmes for the department personnel and also equip them to handle modern technology, he said.

The Minister disclosed that the Department has prepared a proposal for construction of an Excise Bhavan in the city. It would be come up either in Malleswaram or at a plot on Ali Asker Road in the city. Currently, the headquarters of the department was functioning from a rented building in the city, he said.

Officials of 4 States to meet on Curbing Flow of Illicit Liquor

To check illegal movement of liquor from other states, the Minister said a meeting would be held with officials of the Goa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh governments on July 19, 20 and 21, respectively.

Issues related establishment of check-posts, deployment of manpower on border areas and other issues would be discussed in meetings.

There were 830 illicit liquor manufacturing centres in the State and efforts would be made to destroy them in the next two months, he said.

The department has already permitted two sugar factories of north Karnataka - Shree Renuka Sugars Limited in Belgaum and Godavari Sugar Mills in Bagalkote - to manufacture alcohol from sugar beet, a variety of vegetable beetroot.

Sugar produced from sugar beet can supplement sugarcane molasses and it would be used manufacture of alcohol. The permission to two sugar factories would encourage farmers to cultivate the sugar beet crop in their farms.

Asked about vacancies in the department, Renukacharya said there 2323 vacant posts and the Finance Department had given approval for recruiting candidates for 100 posts. A proposal has been submitted to the finance department seeking permission to fill another 150 posts, he said.