Himachal Pradesh announces Rs 10 cow cess per liquor bottle

Himachal Pradesh: The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to impose a tax of Rs 10 per bottle on the sale of liquor. According to the state budget announced on Friday by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the move is meant to generate an additional Rs 100 crore in revenue each year.

Although Himachal Pradesh was the first state to link alcohol sales to a cow tax, other states have done the same to raise money for stray animals’ care. The Rajasthan government received Rs 2,176 crore from cow cess in three years, from March 2022 to the present, according to previous reports.

Under the Budget for 2023–2024, liquor consumers will pay an additional Rs 10 for each bottle as cow cess, fetching the government an additional Rs 100 crore—  money meant to help dairy farmers. The government stated that it would spend Rs 500 crore this year on a pilot version of the “Him Ganga Yojana” to safeguard milk producers from price fluctuations.

The construction of small reservoirs will receive an 80 percent subsidy from fish farmers. As a component of the state’s green push, the public authority will advance hydropower and solar-powered energy. Sukhu stated that the state roadways corporation will gradually replace 1,500 diesel buses with electric ones at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore.