Manipur Cabinet on Friday had a detailed interaction with the members of the Expert Committee tasked with preparing a White Paper on legalising liquor in the state.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh tweeted ‘Held a meeting with the expert committee on producing a White Paper on regulating in Manipur in my Secretariat. The findings tabled by the committee regarding health hazards, domestic violence, and the negative impact on society by adulterated liquor is deeply alarming.’
‘We will be sharing the details of these findings with the public very soon’, CM Biren said in another tweet.
The meeting was attended by members of the state cabinet and top officials of the state government besides the expert committee members.
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Sources said, a draft report has already been submitted to the state government about a month ago and today’s meeting was an interaction with the state Cabinet to discuss the recommendations of the report and the strategy forward.
It may be recalled here that the Coalition against Drugs and Alcohol (CADA) along with several anti-prohibition groups have been staging sit-in-protests against legalisation of liquor in the state.
Prohibition was enforced in the state by the RK Ranbir Singh government on 1 April 1991, following a total ban by the outlawed organisation People's Liberation Army (PLA).
In 2002, the Okram Ibobi Singh government lifted prohibition in the five hill districts of Manipur. The state Legislative Assembly passed the Manipur Liquor Prohibition (Amendment) Bill, 2002 on 31 July 2002 lifting prohibition in the districts of Chandel, Churachandpur, Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul.
In 2015 again, the Ibobi government had mulled removing prohibition in the state, largely for economic reasons.
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The government under Okram Ibobi Singh had contended that alcohol could provide a steady source of revenue for Manipur, which has always been dependent on Central largesse. The government then had also suggested that local Manipuri brews could be exported to other parts of the country.
He, however, he had to drop the idea in the wake of protests by various civil society groups. The idea began to take shape once again after BJP’s N Biren Singh came to power.
But this time, in the incident that took place on July 29, 2017, five people died after having consumed methanol-contaminated country liquor.
It sparked off widespread protests against illegal distilleries and the failure of the government to enforce prohibition in totality while also stirring up an old debate about the reality of prohibition.
