<p>The Excise department has decided to equip all its 500 Inspectors with semi-automatic pistols to enable them to deal with bootleggers, Excise Minister M P Renukachaya said on Tuesday.<br /><br />Presently, about 450 inspectors have been provided with revolvers which have become outdated, Renukacharya said.<br /><br />The revolvers will be withdrawn, said the minister who had faced the wrath of bootleggers on a visit to illicit distilling centres in Belgaum.<br /><br />He said the government was contemplating sanctioning permission to manufacture liquor from beetroot. The department had asked a technical committee to examine a proposal from distillery owners in this regard, he told reporters here. <br /><br />However, the government has rejected the distillery owners’ plea to allow manufacture of liquor using food grains like rice and jowar as it would affect food availability, the minister said.<br /><br />Beetroot contains higher sugar content and is an alternative for molasses. In addition, beetroot crop can be raised twice a year and it consumes less water compared to sugar cane. <br /><br />If the government gives permission, it will help farmers to take up cultivation of beetroot as a commercial venture, he added.<br /><br />He said beetroot that can be used to make liquor was not the usual vegetable used by people, but a different variety. The technical committee has also been asked to recommend ways to grow that variety of beetroot in the State, he said.<br /><br />However, he said his department was not aware if the 65 distilleries in the state had the necessary technology to manufacture liquor using beetroot.<br /><br />Revenue<br /><br />Renukacharya said the department is hopeful of collecting 20 per cent more than the revenue target of Rs 9,300 crore set for the department in the budget 2011-12. The revenue in April alone was Rs 736 crore and the department is hopeful that collection would cross Rs 10,000 crore. <br /></p>
<p>The Excise department has decided to equip all its 500 Inspectors with semi-automatic pistols to enable them to deal with bootleggers, Excise Minister M P Renukachaya said on Tuesday.<br /><br />Presently, about 450 inspectors have been provided with revolvers which have become outdated, Renukacharya said.<br /><br />The revolvers will be withdrawn, said the minister who had faced the wrath of bootleggers on a visit to illicit distilling centres in Belgaum.<br /><br />He said the government was contemplating sanctioning permission to manufacture liquor from beetroot. The department had asked a technical committee to examine a proposal from distillery owners in this regard, he told reporters here. <br /><br />However, the government has rejected the distillery owners’ plea to allow manufacture of liquor using food grains like rice and jowar as it would affect food availability, the minister said.<br /><br />Beetroot contains higher sugar content and is an alternative for molasses. In addition, beetroot crop can be raised twice a year and it consumes less water compared to sugar cane. <br /><br />If the government gives permission, it will help farmers to take up cultivation of beetroot as a commercial venture, he added.<br /><br />He said beetroot that can be used to make liquor was not the usual vegetable used by people, but a different variety. The technical committee has also been asked to recommend ways to grow that variety of beetroot in the State, he said.<br /><br />However, he said his department was not aware if the 65 distilleries in the state had the necessary technology to manufacture liquor using beetroot.<br /><br />Revenue<br /><br />Renukacharya said the department is hopeful of collecting 20 per cent more than the revenue target of Rs 9,300 crore set for the department in the budget 2011-12. The revenue in April alone was Rs 736 crore and the department is hopeful that collection would cross Rs 10,000 crore. <br /></p>
