Napalchyal commission submits its report to CM

| | Dehradun
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Napalchyal commission submits its report to CM

Saturday, 02 November 2019 | PNS | Dehradun

One man commission of former Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand NS Napalchayal in the Roorkee hooch tragedy submitted its report to chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Friday.

In the report, Napalchayal has recommended zero tolerance on illicit liquor and has said that the excise commissioner and other officers should be held personally responsible for any tragedy caused by illicit liquor.

The comprehensive 100 page document further mentions that there should be a strict control on the trade of methyl alcohol which is the cause of death in the illicit liquor tragedies. Unfortunately there is no regulation on the methyl alcohol at present in Uttarakhand. The food and civil supplies department made a regulation under poison act but somehow methyl alcohol was left out its purview.

The report suggests that the Uttarakhand government should formulate regulation under the poison act to monitor methyl alcohol.

Variant of alcohol is poisonous and is used as thinner in paints and other industries. Committee also found 52 drums of methyl alcohol in Haridwar and said they should be disposed off. Napalchyal in his report has suggested that the trucks of the methyl alcohol should be tracked with the help of GPRS and they should have digital locks.

In an important suggestion, committee has suggested that the appointment of the excise commissioner should be made for a period of two years and the commissioner should not be given any other assignment.

Similarly, the commissioner should be appointed after constitution of a panel of officers. On price front, rate of the country liquor in the State is high as compared with neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. In UP, a quarter of country liquor costs Rs 65 while in Uttarakhand it costs around Rs 85.

The price difference is one of the cause of the business of illicit liquor. The Napalchyal committee has recommended that the prices should be reduced by at 40 per cent.

The committee also suggested the department should strengthen with more vehicles and detention cells. The excise inspectors who normally hold charge of two to three tehsils should be given assignment of only one Tehsil.

The Napalchayal committee also recommended that the task of formulation of the excise policy should be done at the level of State administration and not at the level of department as is presently done.

The committee also calls for more powers to the district excise officers (DEO), assistant commissioners.  In an important suggestion, the committee said the district magistrates, Superintendent of Police and DEOs should be held accountable for any hooch tragedy in the area of their jurisdiction and they should not be given assignment of any sensitive district in future.

Committee also calls for track and trace system on every bottle of liquor and extensive campaign for prohibition. Task of prohibition should be handed over to the women and child welfare department. Napalchyal in his recommendations has suggested that the Action Taken Report (ATR) should be tabled in the State Assembly.

Forty-four people had lost their lives after consuming illicit liquor in Roorkee of Haridwar in February this year.

After furore in State Assembly, Speaker Prem Chand Agarwal directed the State Government to set up an enquiry on the issue after which the State Government appointed one man commission of NS Napalchayal.

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