Punjab coffers bank on booze lovers

A fortnight ago, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, BJP MLA from Amritsar, asked the Parkash Singh Badal Government in Punjab to declare it a “dry State” like Gujarat, the Government was amused and so were the booze lovers. They wondered how such a statement could even be thought about in a State where liquor has gradually become a part of life of almost two-thirds Punjabis and for a majority of them, an evening bereft of booze cannot even be thought of.

Sidhu wears several hats as a crusader, a doctor, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) in the Badal Government and also the wife of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Sidhu. But she failed to get support from anyone in the Government.

The disdain for Sidhu’s demand in the Government is understandable. For the cash-strapped Punjab Government, excise from liquor is one of the most important components of its revenue and the State Government heavily banks on the booze lovers to swell its coffers. It contributes over 12 per cent of the income of the Government.

The target of the State Government is `3,638.40 crore for 2012-13, the financial year ending in March this year. The figure was `3,068.40 crore for 2011-12. A year back in 2010-11, the amount was `2,373.07 crore. The figures of three years show that there has been a continuous increase in the revenues from sale of Bacchus. If we take 2005-06 as the base year, the revenue was `1,568.16 crore, indicating that in six years, the income has more than doubled. It is one of the few trades where there is a captive market and profit is guaranteed. Records suggest that per capita consumption of liquor in Punjab shot up from 2.518 proof litre (PL) in 2005-06 to 4.009 PL in 2010-11, up by 59.2 per cent. Official estimates say that it would be over 5.5 proof litre by the end of the current financial year.

Punjab presently has 7,900 liquor vends in the State in which 5,400 are for country liquor shops and 2,500 vends for IMFL, quite a few of them on the highways which has led to the serious problem of drunk driving and deaths in road accidents. The figure of vends has remained unchanged for the last two years. Though the number of vends was not increased in the Excise Policy of the State Government in March last year, but liquor quota was raised by 5.5 per cent to 8.98 crore proof litres for Punjab Made Liquor (PML) and 4.36 crore Proof litres for IMFL.

In addition, there is a thriving trade of illicit liquor and small scale distilleries in rural areas. A poignant reminder was the death of 18 poor people in a hooch tragedy in the border district of Gurdaspur in August last year. Interestingly, a woman was amongst half a dozen arrests made in this connection. The families of the victims alleged political patronage was the reason for the sale of hooch. In 2010 also, 15 people had died in the neighbouring Hoshiarpur district and they too had bought hooch from Gurdaspur. Ask anyone in rural Punjab, in the border areas, where you can get cheap liquor and they will tell you the address. It is quite rampant.

To give a humane touch to the revenues and perhaps to camouflage the increasing number of cases of liver disorder and liver related deaths in the state hospitals, an amount of `105 crore out of the total excise collections have been kept in a Dedicated Fund for Education and Sports Departments. It is a different matter that this is followed more in breach than in compliance.

In the State where liquor vends open at 7 am in the morning, much before a grocery shop or a chemist opens or a doctor comes to the hospital, Government follows a policy of allotment of liquor vends through draw of lots. Though most of these go to politicians and consortium of liquor barons like Ponty Chadha in the past, the draw of lots are held in the presence of applicants, public and the Deputy Commissioners of the Districts. Officials admit that there are few people in the trade and it is “monopolistic” in nature even though the facade of “transparency” is maintained.

In fact, after Ponty Chadha died, his liquor factory in Gurdaspur district was sealed by the Punjab Pollution Control Board, something which they dared not to do when he was alive. Not long ago, Chadha controlled a significant business in liquor in the State before new players arrived on the scene.

The official timings of the liquor shops in Punjab is 7 am to 11 pm. But ask those who swear by their drink and they would vouch for the fact that they can get it round the clock without any hitch. The liquor shops could “officially” close by 11 pm but from under the shutter of several shops you can purchase your favourite brand anytime after that. The liquor vends’ employees work in multiple shifts and the night shift operator gets in action after the official timings are over. Even on the official dry days, the shops open, albeit at 5 pm, much before the evenings set in and it is time for a drink. Prices of liquor in Punjab too are competitive, aimed to attract more people, get new converts and also to retain the loyal customers.

Coming back to Navjot Kaur Sidhu, CPS (Health) who says alcohol is a drug and need to be rooted out. “The only reason why the government is promoting sale of alcoholic drinks is to raise money. But I fail to understand why revenue from alcohol is so important,” she said, adding, “If a State like Gujarat could be dry and still raise enough revenue to become one of the fastest developing states in the country, why could not Punjab do the same?” she said adding that a “beginning should be made by declaring Amritsar as a dry district”. As of now, there are no takers in Punjab for the theory of the first-time MLA. (January 22, 2013)

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