After a tougher anti-spitting legislation, this would be the second strict legislation that the state might bring in during the Assembly’s monsoon session
Mumbai : The state government is contemplating tougher measures for the effective enforcement of alcohol prohibition, including the provision to extern repeat offenders from the areas where the prohibition is enforced.
At a recent meeting in Mantralaya, the situation on the ground in Chandrapur district, where the government enforced prohibition earlier this year, was reviewed. Several ideas for effective the implementation of prohibition were discussed at the meeting, sources said.
One of the ideas was to create a sort of ‘buffer area’ around the district where alcohol is banned. No new licences for liquor shops and bars would be given in an area of 20 km bordering the district where prohibition is in place, the proposal said. It was also proposed that people violating the prohibition need to be identified and punished. The proposal to extern repeat offenders was an extension of this idea.
An effective implementation of prohibition would need better forensic facilities to identify persons consuming alcohol. Plus, it was suggested at the meeting that special courts would be needed if the prohibition has to be strictly followed. The formation of committees of local residents at various levels, from the village to the taluka level, too, was discussed as a measure to effectively enforce alcohol prohibition.
Measures like the sensitisation of the most vulnerable social groups about the ill effects of alcohol consumption, too, were discussed. But, the thrust was more on preventing people from getting and consuming alcohol and taking legal action if they do so, a senior official present at the meeting told FPJ.
When asked about the meeting, finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who hails from Chandrapur, said, “Our experience in Chandrapur is quite good. We have almost achieved 80 per cent of our goals. But, this is not sufficient.”
When asked about the proposals discussed at the meeting, he did not divulge details but said, “We discussed several ideas and everybody agreed that there is a need for tougher legislation.”
