Gutkha Makers To Move Court Against The Ban

The Zafrani Zarda and Pan Masala Manufacturer's Association, which represents the gutkha and pan masala manufacturers in the country, has decided to file an appeal with the Mumbai High Court against the Maharashtra government's decision on a five-year ban on the manufacture, sale, stocking and display of gutkha and pan masala in the state effective August 1.

Addressing newspersons, R M Dhariwal, chairman, Manikchand group and vice-president Zafrani Zarda and Pan Masala Manufacturer's Association, said, "We will be filing an appeal with the Mumbai High Court on July 29 against the government's hasty and irrational decision."

The association recently met the chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh a couple of days back to discuss the issue but the meeting did not yield any result. Dhariwal said, "We told the chief minister that instead of issuing a blanket ban across gutkha and pan masala, suggest norms to be maintained. We pressed the government for standardisation and rigorous quality control. However, the minister did not say anything in this regard as well as on the rolling back of the ban."

 

Dhariwal said, "Since we hold the license from the government to run the business, the government should give us some time for looking for alternative business before taking a hasty decision."

The gutkha and pan masala business is estimated around Rs 5,000 crore and there are 375 to 400 gutkha brands in the country. There are over 40 gutkha and pan masala units in the state and over 85 per cent of the produce is consumed in the state. The rest is exported to other states and foreign countries.

The manufacturers are in a fix as there are crores of rupees worth of raw material lying at the facilities. Dhariwal said," There is around Rs 6 crore each worth of saffron and kesar lying at my factory itself."

"We (manufacturers) have curtailed the production ever since the ban was announced by the government," Dhariwal added.

Ketan Shah, director of Sanket Food Products, manufacturer of Goa gutkha said, "The ban will give rise to black marketing."

According to the association, everyone knows about tobacco's harmful effects but then why ban only one form of tobacco? The association has around 235 companies as its members. "If tobacco content is only 7 to 10 per cent in various brands of gutkha, it is nearly 100 per cent in cigarettes. Will the government impose similar ban on all forms of tobacco. It will not, because there are vested interests involved. Why kill the swadeshi brands and allow the videshi multinational cigarette brands to flourish," Dhariwal added.

The association wants that the government should ban all forms of tobacco and not only gutkha and pan masala.