In his policy address in the Assembly, the Governor said the government was of the view that restrictions on the consumption of liquor had not yielded the desired positive impact. “The increase in the use and availability of drugs in the state is disturbing. The opinion of all sections of society would be taken into account before my government formulates its policy stand,” he said.
The announcement assumes significance as the ruling LDF has been favouring abstinence rather than total prohibition, which was the policy of Congress-led UDF opposition.
The Congress-led UDF government’s liquor policy, which came into force in 2014, had restricted Indian Made Foreign Liquor bars to Five-star category hotels and shut down more than 700 other
bars while envisaging total prohibition in 10 years. However, the LDF had said that it was not in favour of total prohibition and pitched for reducing consumption of liquor in phases.
The Governor said seeking to strengthen the awareness of alcohol abstinence and anti-narcotic activities, the government would constitute an awareness mission, which would coordinate the work of various agencies including Student Police and Kudumbashree, a women-oriented community-based project of the state government, in this regard.
A detailed study would also be conducted on the social, economic and health problems, arising from the consumption of liquor and widespread availability of substances. A state-of-the-art laboratory to combat substance abuse, de-addiction centres in all districts are other plans in this regard, the Governor said.
J&K rules out prohibition
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday ruled out ban on sale or trade of liquor in the state, saying that there is freedom of choice and decisions cannot be enforced on others.
“There is a demand for banning liquor but I believe that the issue needs to be addressed on the basis of freedom of choice,” Minister for Finance Haseeb Drabu said while speaking during the Zero Hour in the Legislative Council.
“As a state policy, we cannot enforce our decisions on others, there is a freedom of choice and let the people decide what they want to do,” Drabu said. He said “let us live in free society where the choice of one is not enforced on the others.”
“It is same as if a person wants to be vegetarian, at the same time he cannot ban non-vegetarian food,” Drabu said, adding besides Jammu and Kashmir is a tourist state.