Bihar booze ban may only be for desi daru

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar may have seemed to suggest a complete ban on alcohol in the state from April 1 next year, but inquiries made to the revenue department officials suggest that considering a revenue deficit of Rs 5,500 cr that this will cause on the cash-strapped state, the ban will have to be limited to country-made liquor.
A reputed IMFL company official said the ban would be staggered at the very least.To substantiate his claim, he quoted Nitish as having said in his November 26 speech that “affluent people know the side effects of alcohol, but people from weaker sections are unaware and they become even violent under the influence of liquor”.
READ ALSO: Booze ban in Bihar — Not an easy task to enforce prohibition
This, the official said, was a deliberately vague remark, leaving enough elbow room for the government to water down prohibition should economic advice suggest moderation.
“Ban on country-made liquor will be effected first, and IMFL, if it’s economically feasible, later,” a revenue and excise department official told TOI on condition of anonymity.
While excise from IMFL is Rs 2,500 crore and VAT Rs 1,000 cr, excise from country-made liquor is to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore. The total excise revenue is around Rs 4,000 crore and total VAT Rs 1,500 crore.
Social scientist and researcher Rajesh Singh expressed similar views, pointing out that the state would need Rs 2.7 lakh crore over the next five years to implement the election promises made by the CM.
“At least 100 to 120 crore bottles of country liquor are sold in the state every year with a good number of its consumers addicted to it. They will instantly develop health problems if they stop consuming liquor all of a sudden,” Singh, who works among people suffering from alcohol abuse in Bihar and Jharkhand, said, adding that the ban, when it’s implemented, will have to be partial.
An excise official supported exemption on IMFL as it contributes to over two-thirds of revenue generation to the state’s exchequer, although it accounts for only one-third of total liquor consumption in the state.
Quoting the findings of Edelweiss Securities Ltd, the official said the firm has highlighted a few points on the proposed prohibition in Bihar.
“Bihar is a small contributor to overall domestic IMFL sales though the sale of toddy and country liquor in the state is significant. At least 8% of India’s population which have low per capita income reside in Bihar, impacting the sale of country liquor more. There is thus every possibility that smuggling from neighbouring states would increase once the ban is effected,” the official said, pointing out the state shares borders with Nepal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal where liquor is not banned.
READ ALSO: Nitish to ban liquor in Bihar from April 1
“We can’t even rule out the possibility of large-scale sale of spurious liquor and resultant casualties,” the official said and hastened to add, however, that the bureaucracy and police are there to implement the order.
Excise minister Abdul Jalil Mastan, however, maintained that the ban will be total. But his detractors said prohibition will also create livelihood loss of over 25,000 people directly involved in the business, and perhaps an equal number indirectly.
Mastan said, “If there will be ban, it will be complete and we will not tolerate its violation.”