Maharashtra will soon have a legal squad made up of villagers to deal with the sale of illicit liquor and violations of alcohol-related laws in rural areas.
The State Excise Department will soon table an amendment to the Maharashtra Prohibition Act in the Legilsative Assembly to empower the gramsabha to set up such a squad. The amendment aims to ensure peoples’ participation to implement the Act at the village level.
According to the proposed legislation, the squad will assist government agencies assigned to protect law and order and deal with matters involving illegal storage, use and consumption of liquor. Members of the squad will have the responsibility to inform excise or police departments of any crime committed or of circumstances that could lead to a crime.
The squad can be formed in every village if 25 per cent or more women voters submit a written and signed application seeking the formation of a gram rakshak squad. Following this, a special village meeting will be called in the presence of the tehsildar, where the recommendations for squad members will be made.
The squad will not have more than 11 members, each of whom will have a term of two years. The team will also have representation for women and scheduled caste and scheduled tribes as per the prevalent norms.
Recently, State Excise Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule had announced a slew of decisions to deal with illicit liquor, including reducing the number of alcohol bottles that could be stored by a permit holder from 12 to two. Mr. Bawankule had said that veteran social activist Anna Hazare had come up with the idea for ‘ gram rakshak squads’, and the government was keen on implementing the concept.
