Amaravati: The game of one-upmanship between the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and opposition YSRCP has put the excise and prohibition department in a tight spot as they are under immense pressure to remove illegal liquor outlets - popularly known as belt shops - across the state. However, officials are worried not just about a loss in revenue but also about having to face the wrath of local public representatives.Interestingly, field-level leaders from both ruling and opposition parties are extending their full support to liquor merchants and are exerting pressure on department officials not to intervene in their business operations. It is an open secret that many legislators and former legislators cutting across the political spectrum have direct stakes in the liquor trade. While the liquor merchants themselves are known as arm-twisters, the support from public representatives is further emboldening them to carry on with their illegal trade.In this backdrop, chief minister Chandrababu Naidu 's directive to the excise and prohibition department not to spare illegal liquor shops is creating ripples in the department. The CM's decision, taken at a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday, has prompted the ruling and opposition parties to engage in a bitter war of words to claim credit. While YSRCP claimed that the CM took the decision after their party chief Jaganmohan Reddy vowed to enforce prohibition if voted to power, the TDP hit back saying the CM took a courageous step to root out the menace of illegal liquor shops after receiving requests from women across the state.Sources say the excise department is in a state of chaos as no decision is being implemented smoothly for the last two years. The confusion at the top had already complicated the issue of granting licenses to the shops and the crackdown on illegal outlets is going to further rattle the department.The failure of senior officials in the excise department in briefing political bosses had delayed the denotification of state highways in the state while several smaller states finished the job without any trouble. The sudden closure of shops on the highways forced liquor barons to relocate to residential areas prompting widespread agitations by women groups."Simple renewal of previous licenses would have resolved the matter without any trouble. Going for issuance of fresh licenses resulted in agitations bringing dis-repute to the government," a senior official said, admitting that due to a lack of clarity in framing a policy, the department had through its own volition handed to the opposition fodder with which to attack the government with.Sources in the department admitted that the number of illegal shops would be anywhere between 5-10 times the number of licensed shops. For example, there are about 150 unauthorised outlets in Prattipadu constituency in Guntur against 12 official shops. Similarly, there are about 130 belt shops in Pedakurapadu constituency against the actual licenses of 11. "It is impossible to completely curtail the shops, particularly in remote areas and rural constituencies," said another official requesting not to be named.

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