Maharashtra govt revokes 6-year-old liquor ban imposed in Chandrapur district

In a politically sensitive decision the Maharashtra government on Thursday revoked the 6yearold prohibition imposed in Chandrapur district of the Vidarbha region an official said hereThe decision to lift the liquor ban in the district enforced since April 2015 was taken at a Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Uddhav ThackerayThis reverses the move by the then Bharatiya Janata Partyled regime of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who has criticised the Maha Vikas Aghadi governments move terming it as regrettable besides evoking mixed reactions from different sections of societyNow only two districts Wardha and Gadchiroli remain dry in the state the former owing to its close connections with Mahatma Gandhi and the latter due to public demand in the Maoisthit district since 1992Justifying the government decision an official said that it was mainly due to the burgeoning sales of illicit liquor and growing crimes in the district witnessed in the past 6 years when all liquor licences were cancelledHowever after the ban the former BJPled government had assured to appoint a committee to study issue following a discussion in the state assembly in July 2018Also Read Mumbai Maharashtra Excise seizes IMFL stockSet up in January this year the 13member expert committee headed by retired Principal Secretary Ramanath Jha had submitted its report to the MVA government on March 9 2021 with its recommendationsAmong the findings were that the prohibition in Chandrapur was largely unsuccessful as it spurred the sale of illicit liquor which was a health hazard besides rampant blackmarketing and interdistrict smuggling of alcohol in the districtThe governments potential earning from the sale of legal liquor had been severely hit while antisocial or criminal elements benefited hugely from the prohibitionAnother worrying factor was the increasing involvement of women and children in the illicit liquor trade in the district it pointed outAs per official data prior to prohibition there were 16132 cases registered between 20102014 which shot up to 40381 between 20162019While there were only 1729 cases against women before the liquor ban they shot up to 4042 after prohibition was implemented besides a growing number of children being used for the illicit liquor tradeThis resulted in many public organisations citizens and locals voting in favour of lifting the ban on liquor which the Jha Committee accepted and recommendedThe state lost Excise Duty of around Rs1606 crore from Chandrapur district in the past five years due to prohibition besides loss of Rs964crore due to a drop in Sales Tax income resulting in a total loss of Rs2570crore to the state exchequerThe Committee also said that many village panchayats womens groups religious organisations lawyers media and citizens sent nearly 243627 lakh petitions or appeals to the Collector demanding the ban should be revoked while only 25876 wanted prohibition to continue in the districtThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever