Bhubaneswar: The excise revenue in Odisha has increased three-fold in the last decade, as per data shared by Odisha Excise Minister Ashwini Kumar Patra in the House today.
As per the data, the excise revenue has increased significantly in the last 10 years.
Replying to a query asked by BJP MLA Kusum Tete, the Minister stated that the excise revenue in Odisha was Rs 1094.38 Crore during 2010-11, whereas the state collected Rs 6455.06 Crore excise revenue in fiscal 2022-23, around 3 times higher in past 10 years.
As per the data, the state’s excise revenue was Rs 1780.29 Crore in fiscal 2013-14, Rs 2038.79 Crore in fiscal 2014-15, Rs 2568.68 Crore in 2015-16, Rs 2786.25 Crore in 2016-17, Rs 3221.03 Crore in 2017-18, Rs 3925.41 Crore in 2018-19, Rs 4495.52 Crore in 2019-20, Rs 4053.51 Crore in 2020-21, Rs 5528.41 Crore in 2021-22
As of 31.12.2023, the state recorded Rs 4897.74 Crore excise revenue in the 2023-24 fiscal.
On the other hand, the empire of illegal drug trade has expanded during the period in Odisha.
As per data shared by the minister, the Excise Department has seized narcotic drugs worth Rs 63,45,13,155 in NDPS cases during 2022-23.
The seized drugs include 42254 kg ganja, 1959 kg opium, 31796 gm brown sugar, 7335-liter cough syrups.
Answering to a query asked by Rengali MLA Nauri Nayak in the House, the Minister dismissed the claim that the narcotic drugs trade is the factor behind rise in criminal violence in the state.
