Hooch tragedy: Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema writes to Union minister Piyush Goyal, asks Centre to regulate methanol
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Chandigarh:
Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema
on Wednesday asked the Centre to enact stringent regulatory measures for methyl alcohol (methanol) under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, following the death of 21 persons in Amritsar's Majitha after consuming illicit liquor on Monday.He added although it is part of industrial alcohol, methanol's unregulated production, sale and movement are leading to systematic failures in monitoring and compliance.Drawing attention to a growing "national crisis" due to rising incidence of hooch tragedies linked to the unregulated use of methanol, Cheema said the repeated loss of innocent lives due to
spurious liquor
manufactured using this highly toxic industrial chemical underlined a serious regulatory vacuum.In a letter to Union industry minister Piyush Goyal, Cheema highlighted the rising incidence of hooch tragedies across India, including in Punjab, due to the unregulated use of methanol in spurious liquor.
"This issue transcends state borders and warrants immediate central legislative action," he said.Punjab has sought immediate amendment to the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, and its schedules to explicitly include methanol as a regulated industry/substance, leaving no room for ambiguity, he said.Cheema said the close resemblance of methanol to ethyl alcohol in appearance, odour, and sedative properties allowed unscrupulous elements to use it in illicit liquor production, leading to mass casualties.
He pointed out the easy availability of methanol, even on online platforms, as a serious public health and safety concern.The letter argues that while IDRA empowered the Centre to regulate industrial alcohol, methanol fell in a "grey area" with unregulated production, sale, and movement. The existing legal framework inadequately addresses supply chain vulnerabilities, lacks tracking mechanisms, and has no provision for mandatory buyer registration or cross-state regulation. This, according to Cheema, facilitates the unauthorised possession, illegal diversion, accidental poisoning, and criminal use of methanol. "Repeated hooch tragedies across states underscore an alarming trend: Methanol is being clandestinely introduced into potable liquor supply chain. The online sale of methanol and its easy inter-state movement have made state-level enforcement increasingly difficult. Law enforcement agencies find themselves hamstrung in the absence of uniform national legislation, particularly when such substances are sourced across borders or through digital platforms beyond the control of local excise authorities," it said.
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