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Maharashtra Government Form Committee To Explore Revenue Through Liquor, Cigarette Sales Amid Fund Issues

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State governments, when drowning in debt, have no option but to tweak the excise policy on sin goods like cigarettes and liguor. Maharashtra may be no exception to the norm.

With its income sources already stretched thin, the cash-strapped Mahayuti government has decided to pop open a bottle of opportunity—appointing a five-member committee to explore liquor production and sales as a new revenue stream.

The committee, chaired by the additional secretary for the housing department, Appoints Committee to Study Liquor Policies for Revenue e Generation brings together a medley of bureaucrats: the additional chief secretaries from finance and state excise, the commissioner of state GST, and the member secretary, the state excise commissioner.

Together, they’ll be tasked with reviewing policies on liquor production, sales licenses, excise duties, and, crucially, revenue-maximizing practices adopted by other states, Expect a menu of recommendations on how to spice up state coffers. The committee’s. main course? A proposal already served up by the state excise commissioner, aimed at increasing annual income through liquor production and sales.

The plan? Crack down on illegal liquor sales and serve up more licenses for retail outlets. If this proposal is uncorked, it could boost the state’s revenue while also tidying up the department’ existing operations. ‘Why the sudden thirst for extra revenue, you ask? Blame the evergrowing list of populist promises made ahead of the state elections, which now need to be fulfilled. Take the Ladki Bahin scheme, for example—it demands a whopping Rs 46,000 crore annually.

Add to that loan waivers for farmers and covering electricity bills for agriculture pump sets, and you’ve got a recipe for fiscal trouble. To top it off, the state needs an extra Rs 600 crore to hike the Ladki Bahin disbursement from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100. Then there’s the debt. With loans soon expected to touch Rs 8 lakh crore, the state needs a sugar rush of revenue to keep things running smoothly. Aside from GST, Maharashtra relies heavily on VAT from petrol and diesel, stamp duties, vehicle taxes, and—of course—excise revenues. And so, the state is eyeing liquor sales as a cash cow.

But here’s the rub: the state’s current policy freezes the number of retail liquor licenses, a decision made back in 1974. With Maharashtra’s population growing and new urban areas cropping up, the demand for wine shops and country liquor outlets is higher than ever. The state excise department believes it’s high time to revisit this policy. Currently, there are 1,720 licenses for Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and 4,346 for country liquor, not including those granted to restaurants with permit rooms. As population booms and urbanization spreads, the excise department is suggesting that the state loosen its grip on liquor licenses and let more outlets sprout up, bringing in fresh revenue while reducing the black market’s grip.

So, is the state taking the path of least resistance, or is it simply opening a new bottle of opportunity? Only time (and the committee’s recommendations) will tell—but it seems like Maharashtra is preparing to raise a glass to new ways of keeping the state’s finances in the black.

Maharashtra

Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi demands state secretary to pass anti-religious hatred bill in Maharashtra monsoon session

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim Azmi has demanded the passing of the Anti-Religious Hatred Bill. Abu Asim Azmi has sent a letter and a draft to the Secretary of the State Assembly, demanding the passing of the Anti-Religious Hatred Bill, which prohibits religious hatred including insulting important persons, religious places, holy places and blasphemy and has demanded strict legal action and law against its perpetrators. He said that the Anti-Religious Hatred Bill should be passed in the monsoon assembly session so that strict action can be taken against those who spread religious hatred in the state. He has drawn attention in his letter that in the case of religious hatred and insulting important persons, attempts are also made to incite communal violence and spoil the atmosphere. In such a situation, the Anti-Religious Hatred Law and Bill should be passed and banned. Azmi has also sent a private draft to the Secretary, suggesting action against those who spread religious hatred and insult important persons. This bill was passed in the same session. Azmi has strongly demanded this.

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Maharashtra

Heavy rains fill Powai lake in Mumbai

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Mumbai: Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s Powai Lake, an important artificial lake within the Mumbai BMC limits, filled up around 6 am today (June 18, 2025). The water of this lake with a storage capacity of 545 crore liters of water is not potable and is mainly used for industrial purposes and other purposes apart from drinking in Aarey Dairy Colony.

According to the water engineering department of the municipal corporation, the lake filled up due to rains in the catchment area of ​​this lake for the last two days.

Here is a brief information about Powai Lake

This lake is located about 27 km (about 17 miles) from the Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters.

The construction of this artificial lake was completed in 1890.

The catchment area of ​​the lake is about 6.61 km. When the lake is completely full, the water area is about 2.23 square kilometers. When the lake is completely filled, it contains 545.5 crore liters of water. (5455 million liters)

After this lake is completely filled, its water goes into the Methi river.

Last year this lake was filled on 8 July 2024.

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Maharashtra

Protest in support of Palestine in Mumbai, protesters detained

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Mumbai: Demonstration in support of Palestine in Mumbai proved costly for the protesters when the police detained the protesters demonstrating in support of Palestine from midnight. The leaders who had announced to protest in different areas of Mumbai to express sympathy for Palestine were stopped by the police from going to Azad Maidan from midnight. Chunabhatti police detained Miraj Siddiqui, Gurgaon police detained Comrade Prakash Reddy, MIDC police detained Firoz Mithi Borwala.

The protesters had sought permission to protest in support of Palestine, but the police refused to give permission, while the protesters had warned them against protesting. Firoz Mithi Borwala said that the police detained us from midnight to stop us from protesting. He said that after the threat from Hindu extremist organization Vishwa Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal, the police took this action to crush the protest. Hindu organizations had clearly threatened that if Muslims protest against Israel, they will take to the streets in support of Israel. It was only after this threat that the police took action against the protesters in support of Palestine, which is completely illegal. Mumbai Police said that the permission has been canceled to maintain law and order. Police has issued an alert in Mumbai.

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