Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday directed the excise department to explore the possibility of setting up a wholesale liquor corporation for the distribution of liquor.

The department has been assigned the task as a step towards ending monopolistic practices in the trade and earning revenue for the state exchequer, added an official spokesperson.

The decision was taken at the first meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee on finance, set up to regularly review the cash-strapped state’s fiscal situation.

The sub-committee is headed by the CM including state health and family welfare minister-cum-parliamentary affair minister Brahm Mohindra and state finance minister Manpreet Badal as its members.

The sub-committee has been tasked with finding ways of curtailing expenditure and mobilizing resources, said the spokesperson.

Chairing the maiden meeting on Thursday, the CM asked the excise department to check on the feasibility of government intervention in the liquor trade.

He asked the department to work out the modalities for developing a corporation for wholesale distribution of liquor, said the spokesperson.

The department earlier made a presentation to the sub-committee explaining the existing value chain in the liquor trade and also highlighting the model followed by other states, including Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Rajasthan, added the spokesperson.

A move to shift to a multi-year liquor policy from the prevailing one-year policy was also discussed by the sub-committee, which instructed the excise department to submit a detailed proposal.

The CM also sought a proposal on restructuring of the excise and taxation departments to ensure more focussed administration of commercial taxes and excise with infusion of greater technology and specialisation, divulged the spokesperson.

The CM said it was important for various departments to come out with innovative ways to generate revenue for the state, which has inherited a debt burden of  `2,08,000 crore from the previous government.

The excise department has been asked to take steps to significantly raise its revenue generation targets over the next three years, added the spokesperson.

With a fiscal deficit of `34,000 crore and revenue deficit of `13,000 crore, the Congress government in the state is battling a major challenge as it strives to combat the fiscal crisis, he added.