With the recent change in governance, Mizoram is also seeing change with the state once again becoming a dry state with a new liquor law coming back into place. This law completely prohibits the sale and consumption of alcohol in the state.
Mizoram was a dry state for 18 years till January 2015 when the Congress government lifted the ban.
The bill was passed unanimously in the Assembly on March 20. "The Bill, that received Governor Jagdish Mukhi's assent before the parliamentary polls, replaced the four-year-old Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition and Control) or MLPC Act, 2014," Mizoram's Excise and Narcotics Minister K Beichhua was quoted as saying by IANS.
While the bill was passed on March 20, the Mizo National Front (MNF) government wanted to wait for the Lok Sabha elections and the results before implementing the law due to the Moral Code of Conduct. The election Commission lifted the MCC on Sunday afternoon and the Mizoram government passed the law on Tuesday, reports Times Now.
Beichhua said that the MNF government, which was elected during the state Assembly elections held on November 28, 2018, wanted to fulfil its promise during the campaign that it will make Mizoram an alcohol free state if elected.
He added that this prohibition will help develop a clean Mizo society and not be in the clutches of alcohol and drugs.
The law is applicable to everyone in the state with the exception of defence personnel and those with medical needs and has a doctor's prescription.
However, not everyone is happy with the ban since alcohol vendors will now incur a loss. Beichhua said that the government will also face a loss of Rs 60 to 70 crore annually but he said it is fine. "But the loss of revenue is much less than the loss of human life and suffering. Larger societal benefit is more vital," Beichhua said.
