Telangana Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao has clarified that the newly proposed privilege fee in the state will not cause any loss to bar owners and will only impose a minor burden on consumers. He was responding to the protests launched by the Bars and Restaurants Association demanding the abolition of the privilege fee.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that past experiences have shown that increasing the price of liquor will not only increase the revenue of the government, but will not reduce consumption much. He said that since the city of Hyderabad has been upgraded, bar licenses have been issued here as in other states. He reiterated that this new fee will not cause any loss to bar owners.

Jupally reminded that during the last BRS government, the income from liquor increased from Rs. 10,000 crore to Rs. 36,000 crore, that is, almost 260 percent. He explained that since the Congress government came to power, the income from liquor is currently Rs. 40,000 crore. He said that the government is moving forward according to the law and there is no shortage of water for liquor production.