Bihar villages face mass fines over liquor ban violation

Authorities in Bihar plan to impose collective fines on nearly half a dozen villages for repeated violation of the ban on liquor in the state.

Four days after the Bihar assembly passed a law to implement the ban effectively, excise officials in Shekhpura, Bhagalpur and Nawada districts forwarded a proposal to impose collective fines on residents of different villages in their jurisdiction for breaching the liquor ban.

According to officials, the villages which may face fines include Murarpur village in Shekhpura, Lauhsingha village (Nawada) and three villages in Bhagalpur.

The Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill 2016 allows the district collector to impose collective fine on a village or a locality in a town if a group of people are found to have violated the liquor law repeatedly.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the new legislation was required to plug gaping holes in the previous Act that facilitated the liquor ban with effect from from April 1.