15-05-2025
Before Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Sangrur hooch tragedy probe panel called for strong central law to curb methanol use
Chandigarh: In a letter to the Union industry and commerce minister on Wednesday, following the Majitha hooch tragedy,
sought the framing of supplementary legal provisions or a dedicated national law among other regulatory measures for methyl alcohol.
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The recommendation came after the Majitha hooch tragedy, the toll of which has reached 27, and more than four months after a high-level committee of three senior IAS officers which probed the March 2024 hooch tragedy in Sangrur advocated for a "very strong central legislation".
"Since hooch tragedies are being reported across different states, primarily due to methyl alcohol entering the ethyl alcohol supply chain, there is an urgent need for a strong central legislation," according to the report by Punjab chief secretary K A P Sinha, then excise commissioner Varun Roojam, and then additional chief secretary (industries) Tejveer Singh.
The panel, formed in the aftermath of the March 2024 Sangrur incident, had strongly advocated for a national framework to regulate methanol production and distribution. The panel had also urged for dynamic and uniform enforcement mechanisms across states.
In addition, the report called upon the Punjab health and family welfare department to implement the Punjab Poisons Possession and Sale Rules, 2014, framed under the Poisons Act, 1919, to curb methanol pilferage.
A letter in this regard, TOI has learnt, was sent to the principal secretary of the department on Dec 30, 2024—days before the panel submitted its report to the state government.
"These rules empower executive magistrates, police sub-inspectors and above, medical officers, and designated inspectors to inspect licensed premises selling poison, including methanol," the report stated. "There is an urgent need to properly regulate the
through consistent district-level enforcement," the report added.
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Two owners of a Ludhiana-based chemical factory, from where the methanol used in making spurious liquor in the Majitha incident was allegedly procured by the accused, were among the 16 arrests made by Punjab Police.
Meanwhile, emphasising the need to ensure distinctly separate supply chains, the report also stated, "Niti Ayog has been recommending ramping up methyl alcohol production from 2 MT to 20 MT. Immediate action is thus warranted to ensure that methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol supply chains are made distinctly separate and there is no scope of pilferage at any level at any point in time."
It added, "Introduction of a legal regulatory framework for control over methanol can definitely go a long way in ensuring the implementation of strict surveillance and control measures to prevent the diversion of industrial methanol." As reported by the TOI on Thursday, the panel, among other things, also observed that there was a "need to enhance both the capabilities and accountability of police and excise enforcement wings to effectively combat illicit brewing.
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