Assam government has given its nod to the Assam Excise (Amendment) Bill 2019, to regulate the production and sale of molasses, which is widely misused for manufacturing illicit liquor in the state, officials said.
In February this year, over 150 people lost their lives after drinking illicit alcohol in Golaghat and Jorhat districts. Most of the victims were tea garden workers.
The amendments approved in a cabinet meeting on Monday will be placed before the assembly in the forthcoming winter session.
According to a statement from Sailendra Pandey, a spokesperson in the office of Parimal Suklabaidya, minister for excise department, the amendments “will facilitate the introduction of necessary rules to control and regulate the production, storage, distribution, possession and sale of molasses in the state to deal effectively with the challenges posed by the rampant production, trade and consumption of the spurious liquor.”
A second official said once the amended law comes in force, molasses and equipment used in production of molasses and intoxicants from it would become “excisable and leviable” and separate licenses would be mandatory to procure molasses for the manufacture of liquor and cattle feed.