Patna: Claiming that Bihar has foregone nearly Rs 60,000 crore in excise revenue over the past decade, the Brewers Association of India (BAI) on Tuesday called for a comprehensive review of the state’s liquor prohibition policy, arguing that the law has failed to curb liquor consumption and has instead fuelled an illegal liquor economy.In a statement issued on Tuesday, the association said its director general, Vinod Giri, had written to CM Samrat Choudhary, urging the state govt to replace what he described as “an ineffective prohibition model with a socially responsible and economically sustainable regulatory framework”.The association, which represents major beer manufacturers, claimed prohibition had merely shifted liquor consumption from regulated and taxed channels to an underground market.“Prohibition has not eliminated liquor consumption; it has eliminated legal liquor while strengthening illegal liquor,” Giri said.According to the association, Bihar has registered more than 11.3 lakh prohibition cases and arrested over 17 lakh people since the liquor ban came into force in 2016. Despite having one of the country’s strictest prohibition laws, liquor continues to enter the state through smuggling networks operating across its borders, it claimed.The BAI alleged that enforcement of the law has consumed substantial police and judicial resources even as organised bootlegging networks have expanded.“Bihar today has the lowest per capita income in India, yet has voluntarily surrendered one of the largest sources of state revenue available to any govt,” Giri said.The association further claimed that the state’s own tax revenues are insufficient to meet annual salary and pension obligations, increasing its dependence on borrowings and central transfers.It also argued that prohibition has disproportionately affected economically weaker sections through arrests, legal expenses and loss of livelihoods, while recurring hooch tragedies show that the absence of regulated alcohol markets often pushes consumers towards unsafe liquor.“Where legal and quality-controlled alcohol disappears, illegal and dangerous substitutes inevitably emerge,” Giri added.The association proposed the phased introduction of low-liquor beverages such as beer and wine, beginning in urban areas and economic zones. It also recommended liquor-content-based taxation, dedicated funding for de-addiction and rehabilitation programmes, a women’s welfare cess funded through excise revenue and reserving more than 50% of factory-floor jobs for women.“The choice before Bihar is not between prohibition and public welfare. The real choice is between an unregulated black market and a regulated system that generates jobs, revenues and safeguards for consumers and communities,” Giri said.Attempts to contact senior officials of the prohibition department for their response to the BAI’s claims did not elicit any official statement.
