Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma has said that the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the state’s revenue generation.

However, he said that the excise department managed to generate steady revenue for the state even during pandemic period.

“COVID-19 impacted our revenue collection. But the excise department has done well in terms of revenue collection,” Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma said.

The Meghalaya chief minister made this comment after laying the foundation stone for the new office of the commissioner of excise in Shillong on Tuesday.

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“A constant growth of close to 10-12 percent in the revenue has been noticed, which is a very positive indication,” CM Conrad said.

He added that several reforms have also been initiated in the excise department that will eventually yield results in regards to increase revenue generation of the excise department.

“Local wines have been legalised. In the past, there was no policy to monitor and provide legal licensing to home wine-makers or small-scale winemakers,” CM Conrad said.