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No liquor production in Bihar from April 1

The licences of all these units will expire on March 31, following which there will be no liquor production in Bihar. Statistics suggest, the liquor manufacturing plants had made an investment of about Rs 1,000 crore in Bihar.

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After implementing total prohibition, the Nitish government has now decided not to renew the licence of any of the 21 distilleries and breweries in the state to ensure there is no production of liquor in Bihar. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Bihar Cabinet in Rajgir on Tuesday. 

“The Cabinet has approved a proposal of state registration, excise and prohibition departments recommending not to renew the licences of breweries, IMFL manufacturing and bottling factories as well as grain-based distillation plants producing ENA (Extra Neutral Alcohol) from April 1,” State Cabinet Secretariat Department’s Principal Secretary Brajesh Mehrotra said.

At present, there are six ENA units, with a total manufacturing capacity of about 900 kilo-litres per day (KLPD), which get exported. Three breweries with the capacity of producing five lakh cases of beer per month are also operational, besides 12 IMFL manufacturing and bottling plants.

The licences of all these units will expire on March 31, following which there will be no liquor production in Bihar. Statistics suggest,  the liquor manufacturing plants had made an investment of about Rs 1,000 crore in Bihar.

Mehrotra said six distilleries producing about 300 KLPD ethanol have been allowed to continue their operations as ethanol is mixed with gasoline for fuel.

The state government said the 12 IMFL distilleries were active since April 5, 2016, the day when total prohibition was enforced in Bihar. Interestingly, in September, the dry state had waived off all taxes on liquor manufacturing units, exempting them from paying any duty on export of their product or even bottling fees, to compensate their losses.

BJP had repeatedly questioned CM Nitish Kumar’s intent on tax cuts for distilleries and breweries and demanded their closure. 

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