Liquor policy

Officials said that the government also plans to launch an awareness campaign against liquor consumption, organise yoga and meditation therapy centres, and cancel driving licences of those caught for the third timefordrunkdriving.besides,thenewpolicy includes a provision to maintain a list of habitual excise offenders in police stations.

Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya told The Indian Express that liquor shops will keep a record of regular buyers and drinkers but won’t display the list publicly. “It’s easy to identify those who turn up daily. The information will be used to find out if they need de-addiction treatment,’’ he said.

A senior state government official told The Indian Express that the state may also look at imposing prohibition at a later stage. “The state government has sent a team of police officials to Gujarat and Bihar to study the impact of total prohibition on the crime rate. Based on the team’s findings, the political leadership may take a call on prohibition in the state,’’ said the official.

Malaiya, however, ruled out any possibility of the state imposing total prohibition. “The policy for the next year has already been announced,’’ he said.

Amongthemeasuresinthepolicyisthat Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and country liquor shops located within 5 km from the banks of the Narmada would be shut once their annual licences expire. This move is expected to impact 58 licenced shops in several towns, including Hoshangabad, Dindori, Mandla, Harda, Dewas and Khandwa.

This decision was first announced by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan during his Narmada Seva Yatra, the five-month campaign to free the river of pollution and create awareness about water conservation.

With the Supreme Court recently ruling that liquor shops within 500m of highways be shut, the government has decided to provide alternate locations to shop owners.

“The Supreme Court ruling will affect 1,427 shops. It’s difficult to quantify the exact losses but the order will have a huge impact on excise collection. It’s a challenge for us,’’ said an official.

Officials said that with five shops per one-lakh population, Madhya Pradesh has a relatively low liquor outlet density.