Bihar hooch tragedy: Sobering reality of missing liquor policy

With over 70 people losing their lives in the Chhapra hooch tragedy, industry experts are ruing the lack of a national-level liquor policy to reduce the consumption of spurious liquor.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), unrecorded alcohol represents about 46 per cent of all alcohol consumption in India, indicating the need for better regulation in the sector.

Based on latest available data, of the 947 deaths due to spurious liquor in 2020, a majority were in Madhya Pradesh (214), Jharkhand (139), and Punjab (133).

“Prohibition alone will not work unless there’s a national alcohol policy in place. There is demand and therefore, supply. Prohibition should remain, but it should not be the only answer. There should be an alcohol demand reduction policy,” says Suneel Vatsyayan, member-board of studies, Department of Social Work, Central University of Jammu, and founder of Nada India Foundation, a non-governmental de-addiction organisation.

The five major states that reportedly banned liquor are Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur. He added that state policies only govern supply.

Another WHO data indicates that India’s per capita alcohol consumption has increased from levels of 2.2 litres in 2000 to 5.61 litres in 2019. The deaths of 71 in Bihar’s Saran district allegedly happened due to the consumption of spurious liquor and the highest death toll since liquor prohibition in Bihar in 2016.

According to data published by the National Crime Records Bureau, deaths due consumption of illicit liquor declined from 1,510 in 2017 to 947 in 2020. In 2018 and 2019, they were seen at 1,365 and 1,296, respectively.

According to a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry report, the estimates of illicit alcoholic beverages were down from 23.88 per cent in 2017-18 to 19.87 per cent in 2019-20. In value terms, they were estimated to be Rs 23,466 crore in 2019-20, the report stated.

There are various reports and studies on adulteration in Indian liquor, with some saying that nearly 20 per cent of all spirits sold in India are adulterated, while others peg it at 40-50 per cent. But this adulteration happens mostly in fast-moving brands since dealers want to liquidate inventory fast to meet rising demand. More often than not, similar adulteration in big/popular brands is not as fatal.  

Hooch tragedies happen when alcohol unfit for human consumption is drunk, leading to death or permanent disability such as blindness.

When alcohol is manufactured, it is of two types. One is potable alcohol suited for human consumption and can have 96 per cent strength in its purest form. When the same is denatured (taking away the natural qualities by adding an extraneous substance), it becomes unfit for human consumption and is referred to as non-potable alcohol.

Denaturing is done to use alcohol for industries such as paints, varnishing, and shoe polish. All denaturants are not poisonous but some, like methyl alcohol, when used for denaturing, make the drink poisonous and fatal. It is this denatured alcohol when consumed that triggers deaths.

Industry players say the incentive to sell denatured alcohol is huge as the price differential with potable alcohol is massive.

Import duty on potable alcohol is 150 per cent, while on non-potable much less. Similarly, the goods and services tax on non-potable alcohol is around 18 per cent, while that on potable, the state levies can be as much as 150 per cent over the cost of production.

“This creates a significant incentive to hide the business,” says an industry executive.

In addition, prohibition ensures illegal trade flourishes to meet growing demand from neighbouring states - and sometimes even countries.

“In the case of Bihar, most of the liquor comes from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and even Nepal. Whatever is left is manufactured locally through illegal means,” says the executive quoted earlier.

This also creates a problem for the administration to follow the trail as none of the business is overground.

“Prohibition simply pushes the liquor industry underground,” says Suresh Menon, secretary general, International Spirits and Wines Association of India.