Mumbai, Sept. 1 (PTI): The Maharashtra government is planning to modify rules on liquor consumption, including allowing a permit holder to keep 12 bottles of alcohol at home against the two now.
Government sources said these steps could help curb the sale of spurious alcohol.
The administration is also thinking of doing away with another system under which consumers need a day's permit to drink alcohol in a bar or a public "permit room".
State excise minister Eknath Khadse said the government was likely to issue a notification next month to modify the existing law. "More than a 100 people unnecessarily lost their lives in the Malwani hooch incident (in Mumbai earlier this year). After that incident, the state excise department is trying various measures to curb the sale of spurious and illegal alcohol."
One of the steps the excise department has suggested, Khadse said, is to "allow a permit holder to keep 12 bottles of liquor at home in place of the existing two". Under current rules, a person needs a permit to keep alcohol at home in Maharashtra.
Khadse said the government will not be required to amend the existing Bombay Prohibition Act, as the cabinet was empowered to bring in necessary changes in the law.
On the system of taking a day's permit before consuming liquor, the minister said: "When a person goes to a permit room that is legal, he has to spend on getting a day's permit. One should not be asked to pay extra while sitting in a place that already has a permit to serve alcohol."
Khadse said the excise department has also suggested increasing the minimum quantity of alcohol that can be stored in each bottle from 750ml to 1,000ml. "But we are not keen on doing that at the moment."
The minister said several companies had requested the government to draft new holograms to ensure the authenticity of the alcohol being sold. He said a panel comprising the excise commissioner, excise secretary and finance secretary would decide on the issue. "After that, a company will be finalised for making holograms."
