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DIMAPUR — The Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) Nagaland has issued a statement urging the state government to lift the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act as it is “simply not implementable.” Citing widespread corruption, the creation of a “mafia culture”, and the Act’s ultimate failure to curb alcohol consumption, ACAUT asserted that the decades-old ban has done more harm than good.
In the statement, ACAUT asserted that it is entirely up to the elected government to make a final decision and the prerogative of pressure groups to voice their opinions and disagreement. “However, the government should act based on what it deems best for the state, it should not cower under pressure of any groups.”
It went on to say that if the government chooses to continue the prohibition, it must clearly state the reason and rationale for arriving at such decision, and also clearly “dispel the suspicion that a few in the government are making NLTP act continue, and have even been influencing certain individuals from pressure groups.”
ACAUT said that the NLTP Act “only encourages corruption within the law enforcement agencies and creates mafia culture making criminals within the society.” It also pointed to the prevalence of unregulated liquor dens operating openly across the state, posing a greater threat to public health and safety compared to regulated, monitored establishments.
Moreover, “the problem of alcoholism and addiction has always been there, with or without prohibition, thus a more pragmatic approach would be for the Government to ensure that certain percentages of revenue generated must go to setup detox and counselling centres”, it said.
ACAUT further dismissed the argument to continue the prohibition on religious and moral grounds, stating that it is impractical and lacking biblical foundation. It contended that arguments for stricter enforcement are “wishful and fatalistic optimism,” pointing to the government's limited resources and the near-impossible task of controlling alcohol consumption without broader public support.
Pointing to a rise in alcohol-related deaths, likely linked to the consumption of unregulated, spurious liquor, ACAUT stated that “while there is no guarantee that with regulation and opening of wine stores it will do away with spurious alcohol but it certainly is more manageable and would drastically cut down on spurious alcohol.”
The majority of consumers are not alcoholics, thus, it would be unfair to rob these people of their quality of life for those few that abuse it, it added.
“The ACAUT Nagaland is of the opinion that the NLTP Act should be done away with or at least partial lifting should be implemented along towns and cities bordering with Assam”, the press release stated.
Claiming that “the majority of Nagas are in favour of lifting prohibition”, ACAUT asserted that the prohibition Act is “simply not implementable,” and an “utter failure.”
“Prohibition in the state should be lifted at all cost. It is simply not implementable anymore. The empirical evidences of the past three and a half decades are irrefutable”, it said, urging the state government to lift the Act in the state or at least in border towns.