Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has kept his pre-poll promise by banning liquor in the State from April 2016. However, it is not clear whether the ban encompasses country liquor and toddy or is it just limited to Indian-made foreign liquor and other refined brands. Ironically, it was Mr Nitish Kumar who had broadened and liberalised the State's liquor policy in 2007, much to the ire of rural women, who lost their families' breadwinners, as a result of free flow of liquor in villages. Enforcing total prohibition is not a tough job; but past examples have proved it isn't an easy task either.
Mr Nitish Kumar's move will boomerang if he fails to ensure strict monitoring of the ban. Top officials should be instructed to keep an eye on possible bootlegging of cheap liquor from the adjacent States. Moreover, it will be interesting to see how Mr Kumar makes up the loss of revenue to the tune of Rs3,500 crore, as liquor contributed to about 15 per cent of the State's tax collection.