Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that under a new excise policy being devised by the state government, liquor made from mahua flower would be sold as “heritage liquor”, news agency ANI reported.
Addressing a gathering during the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas in Mandla district on Monday, Chouhan said under the new excise policy, it won't be illegal anymore to produce liquor from mahua in a "traditional way".
“It will be sold in liquor shops with the name of ‘heritage liquor,’ which would be a source of employment and income for the tribal people who have been making and consuming it," the chief minister said.
The chief minister spoke about several other schemes for the welfare of the tribal communities in the state. One among them was sanctioning ₹613 crore to provide tap water to each and every household of 446 villages of Mandla and Dindori.
Congress, however, slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Madhya Pradesh government’s decision to start the sale of 'heritage liquor', calling it a "moral decline" of the party.
"It is unfortunate that the government has taken the decision to legalise ‘kacchi sharab’ when more than 50 people have lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor,” Congress spokesperson KK Mishra was quoted as saying by ANI.
{{/usCountry}}"It is unfortunate that the government has taken the decision to legalise ‘kacchi sharab’ when more than 50 people have lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor,” Congress spokesperson KK Mishra was quoted as saying by ANI.
{{/usCountry}}This comes after it was recently reported that the Madhya Pradesh government is planning to impose a surcharge on liquor and other services offered by local bodies to generate ₹100 crore for meeting the expenses of operating cow shelters in the state.
Earlier this year, Chouhan said that his government aims to ban liquor in the state, and announced the proposal to run a “liquor-free campaign” to urge the people to stop consuming alcohol and turn Madhya Pradesh into a “good state.”