Bihar goes dry from tomorrow, but what about displaced workers in liquor trade?

Bihar would enforce ban on countrymade liquor from Friday – a 2015 election promise. The promise for which he decided to forgo an annual revenue of Rs 4,000 crore.

Nitish, an electrical engineer by training and social engineer by practice, looked in terms of vast caste-neutral constituency of women. It’s an irony to look for anything caste-neutral in Bihar, but Nitish always found ways to create caste-neutral constituency. First, he gave 50 per cent reservation to women in panchayats since 2006 panchayat elections. Second, he set a target of setting up 10 lakh self-help groups of women. Now, he’s enforcing liquor ban to save money of the poor and also save women from domestic violence. So far so good – in letter and spirit though.

While Nitish Kumar has deftly found methods to compensate for huge revenue loss by increasing VAT on 20-odd items and reworking other taxes, the big challenge before him is of liquor ban implementation. With Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) ban yet to take place, there would always be apprehensions of foreign liquor travelling from towns to villages after burning holes in poor tipplers’ pockets.

There has been a big list of incorrigible drinkers, who would manage doctors to give them prescription to take alcohol. There are talks of de-addiction centres getting training at NIMHANS, but a 10-bed hospital in the entire district looks a bit of symbolism. Once Nitish takes his attention off liquor ban and moves to other serious issues of governance, these centres might not be of great help to alcoholics.

The biggest challenge comes from policing, with amended law laying stringent provisions making most offences non-bailable. This means that one wouldn’t get bail from police stations from drinking offences. Police would have unbridled powers under amended laws whose sections would be imposed along with IPC provisions. It would be very easy to frame a person just by planting a liquor bottle in his vehicle. The person in trouble would have two options – either face stringent laws or bribe cops. How can state monitor if its police have been fair or not? Liquor transport from neighbouring states would be another big challenge. Although police would be stationed at integrated checkposts, what about on-foot routes to enter another states?

With all kinds of manufacturing-needing spirits getting banned, there are always fear of liquor manufacturing using rice and mahua. The government has been counting mahua trees to cut them but forest laws and local resistance would further trouble the government. Nitish might have reasons to believe that his move is statesmanly, but it all depends on practical implications.

It is one thing for legislators to pledge in Assembly not to drink and discourage drinking, it is another thing for some of these legislators saying liquor ban can never be a complete success. Nitish, the politician, looks firm with his resolve. Nitish, the administrator, would have to wait for sometime to pat his back.

Yet another thing that has not been talked about is the sudden displacement of over two lakh people hence making their living through liquor trade. Though 306 liquor shopkeepers have applied with government to run Sudha milk parlours, it may well just be a catchy symbolism to make a soft story. Until and unless these displaced people get other jobs or rehabilitated, there would be direct and indirect resistance of the ban.

Womenfolk are surely happy with Nitish’s move. But it remains to be seen how they are able to dissuade their men from drinking and cycling their way to town shops to buy IMFL. Nitish has been aware of the challenges, but he says now that he has made up his mind, he would take it head on. “Is spirit ban ko aap logon ne sahi spirit me liya hai” is what the CM raved to fellow legislators after getting amended liquor law passed with voice vote.

Meanwhile, tipplers are still in long queues before liquor shops to get their one “final” legal sip before Thursday midnight.