Wary of church, Mizoram is mum on liquor revenue
State govt fears money earned from alcohol might alarm church, prohibitionist NGOs
The government in Christian-majority Mizoram does not want the church to know how much revenue it earns from liquor sale.
Reason: the booty from booze might alarm the influential church and prohibitionist NGOs enough to step up their demand for a return to dry days.
This demand is expected to be a major issue in the assembly election next year, with the ‘church-compliant’ opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) desperate to end the Congress’ run since 2008.
The MNF is a member of the BJP-helmed North East Democratic Alliance.
Lal Thanhawla’s Congress government in July 2014 replaced Mizoram Liquor (Total Prohibition) Act of 1995 with the Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition and Control) Act to end 18 years of church-enforced ban on drinking. Prohibition was formally lifted in January 2015 and wine shops opened two months later.
“We have kept the data on total consumption of liquor and revenue earned confidential because of the church and some NGOs,” a senior officer of the state’s excise and narcotics department said, declining to be quoted.
The government expects to earn about ₹200 crore a year from liquor sales through three stateowned warehouses. Revenue figures in various publications from time to time are guesstimates, officials said.
The department’s achievement chart, updated on its site, has accordingly blanked out the revenue collection columns against ‘foreign liquor and spirit’ and ‘fines and confiscation’.
The achievements include seizure of alcoholic beverages such as zu (country liquor) and Indiamade foreign liquor (IMFL) besides imported beer. The list suggests seizure of local liquor and bigger bottles of IMFL declined since prohibition was THE STATE OF 1.1 MILLION PEOPLE HAS 71,158 LIQUOR CARD HOLDERS ENTITLED TO SIX 750ML IMFL BOTTLES AND 10 BOTTLES EACH OF WINE AND BEER A MONTH lifted at the end of the 2014-15 fiscal.“This is not only about revenue. The government has also refused to provide details of liquor permit card-holders for a study the church has been conducting to assess the impact of lifting prohibition in Mizoram,” B Sangthanga, executive secretary of Mizoram Synod of the Presbyterian Church, told Hindustan Times. The majority of 87% Christians in Mizoram are Presbyterians.
As of March, the state of 1.1 million people has 71,158 liquor card holders entitled to six 750ml IMFL bottles and 10 bottles each of wine and beer a month from 51 operational outlets.
The Synod, Sangthanga said, appointed nine academics from Mizoram University and few colleges to study alcohol’s impact. “We are compiling reports they submitted for publication by the end of May.”
The panel is believed to be a counter to a similar committee state excise minister R Lalzirliana formed last year. “The 27-member review and evaluation committee is looking into the advantages and disadvantages of opening wine shops in the state,” Lalzirliana said in March.
Apart from the church, the ruling Congress has the MNF to contend with. The party, trying to stir Christian sentiments, has been organising rallies against the opening of liquor shops.
The MNF, which promised to impose prohibition again if voted to power in 2018 state assembly polls, demanded the state government immediately close wine shops.
“Hundreds have died after the opening of wine shops,” MNF veteran and former chief minister Zoramthanga said.
Justifying the lifting of prohibition, Lalzirliana said the ban since 1995 “only increased sale of expensive spurious liquor” and “people who cannot do without drinks need to find good quality liquor at cheaper prices”.
The government had also said access to legitimate liquor could go a long way in checking drug abuse in the state, which shares a long border with Myanmar, one of three countries forming the Golden Triangle notorious for growing opium.
“Before liquor started flowing legally, the government said drug trafficking and abuse would reduce. This is also a subject of study by our panel,” Sangthanga said.