Karnataka Legislature Panel Suggests Opening Liquor Shops In Telangana, Andhra Pradesh Borders

The committee observed that some Mysore Sales International Ltd (MSIL) outlets are inconveniently located in the middle of villages and suggested their relocation.

The Karnataka Legislature Committee has proposed the establishment of state-owned liquor shops in regions bordering Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where the consumption of "sendi" (local liquor) poses health risks. In its second report tabled in the assembly, the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes recommended that Mysore Sales International Ltd (MSIL), the centralized marketing unit of the Government of Karnataka, should open liquor outlets in areas with demand.

Headed by Congress Malavalli MLA P M Narendraswamy, the committee observed that some MSIL outlets are inconveniently located in the middle of villages and suggested their relocation.

Additionally, the panel strongly advocated for the government to establish Jan Aushadhi Kendras (generic medicine stores) in areas predominantly inhabited by SC/STs and the economically disadvantaged.

The committee highlighted that funds allocated for the maintenance of toilets in government schools are being redirected for tasks such as painting water tanks, prompting the recommendation to establish a designated "toilet fund."

It was noted that each school received only Rs 40,000 annually for toilet repairs, an increase from Rs 20,000 in previous years. However, the committee emphasized that the total grants for school education in the last fiscal year amounted to only Rs 120 crore, which it deemed insufficient. To address this shortfall, the committee proposed doubling the grants to Rs 240 crore annually.

The committee recommended increasing the quota under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, including a higher allocation for SC/STs, and suggested that SC/STs receive 24.1 per cent of advertising tenders in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Furthermore, the committee addressed concerns about the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board's (KIADB) lack of reservation for SC/ST entrepreneurs in the allotment of plots in the Hi-Tech Defence & Aerospace Park near Bengaluru airport, recommending corrective action in the second phase.