No guidelines on ENA sale by distilleries

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 15

The Haryana Excise and Taxation Department is yet to issue guidelines or standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the sale and supply of extra neutral alcohol (ENA) by its distilleries, whereas the same is regulated under the provisions of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914.

In its report, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by ADGP Shrikant Jadhav, which was set up to probe the death of 47 persons due to the consumption of spurious liquor in November last year, has pointed towards the lack of ENA monitoring. It has also found its diversion for other purposes.

The SIT has not ruled out a nexus among liquor mafia, distilleries and excise officials. It said that the Punjab Excise Department had imposed a fine of Rs 748 crore during the inspection of distilleries on December 23 last year, where an unaccounted stock of 22,936 cartons was found. However, in Haryana, action in 50 such cases is still pending, wherein Rs 100 crore can be recovered as penalty and the licence of some distilleries can be cancelled.

The report also mentions the name of an assistant excise and taxation officer, who “seems to be involved in quid pro quo with the help of influential people” and of another person whose role needs a deeper investigation.

The State Home Department will be studying the report, which was submitted to it earlier this month.

“The department has failed to share any guidelines/ SOPs regarding the monitoring and use of ENA in the state. Further, the Excise and Taxation Commissioner has tried to pass on the responsibility to the Health and Ayush Departments, which is unfortunate,” says the report.

Quoting a Supreme Court judgment in the matter of Bihar Distillery and another verses Union of India and others delivered on January 20, 1997, the report says that “so far as rectified spirit meant for being supplied to or utilised for potable purposes is concerned, it shall be under the exclusive control of the state from the moment it is cleared/ removed for that purpose from the distillery.”

Mentioning some instances of the diversion of the ENA, the SIT report says that in one such case, the name of a buyer was mentioned as Life Care Homeo, Faridabad, but upon verification by the local police, the “destination was not found”.

Another purported buyer, Sakalpp Nutravedic Pvt Ltd, 2nd Floor, Vardhman Mall, Sector 19, Faridabad, was not found on the location mentioned when the local police went there.

Chemistry World, another buyer of ENA, mentioned its address as Shop No 2H/13, Gurugram – Faridabad road, NIT Faridabad, but a person named Satish Kumar was found residing there and no company was found there.

To check the diversion of ENA, the SIT has recommended real-time monitoring of tamper-proof flow meters in all distilleries, bottling plants and breweries, GPS monitoring of the transportation of ENA, implementation of ENA production module already designed by Wipro system and use of excise adhesive labels having high-end tamper-proof security feature, which cannot be cloned for liquor bottles.