Himachal Pradesh is the first state in the country to make a provision for confiscation of property

Shimla, September 14: Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said here today that Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to make a provision for confiscation of property in cases of illegal and spurious liquor. He said that the state government is taking strict action to curb the people involved in the business of making illegal and spurious liquor.

He said that recently during the monsoon session of the state assembly, these provisions have been made by amending the Himachal Pradesh Excise Act 2011 to crack down on people involved in such illegal activities. The Chief Minister said that the most important amendment allows confiscation of the property of people involved in illegal activities, their relatives and associates.

CM Sukhu said that earlier there was no such provision in the Act. He said that Himachal Pradesh is the first state in the country to implement this provision. Moreover, to enhance its effectiveness, these offences have now been made cognizable and non-bailable.

He said that the new provisions will prove to be very helpful in controlling activities like illegal liquor trade. He said that the amendments also increase the penalty under various sections of the Act and increase the period of punishment. He said that selling liquor to minors and using them to sell liquor is a very serious issue. To address this, the new law now provides for both punishment and fine to the offenders. The offenders can be sentenced to six months in jail and fined up to Rs 50,000.

He said that enforcement agencies are being empowered to implement these provisions effectively. Provision has also been made for the formation of Excise Police Force for speedy disposal of such cases. The Chief Minister reiterated the incident that took place in Mandi in the year 2022 where eight people lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor. The Chief Minister assured that strict action will be taken against the production, storage and sale of spurious liquor so that such incidents do not happen again in future. He said that the state government is also taking several steps to deal with drug smuggling and use in the state.

The state government is recruiting more than 1200 police personnel whose main objective will be to deal with such activities.