23 more Sangrur villages say no to liquor vends
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service
| Section 40 of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act says… It empowers the village panchayat with the power to introduce prohibition, following which intoxicating liquor cannot be sold at any licensed shop within the gram panchayat area. The Section further mentions that if within two years, preceding the date of the passing of such a resolution, illicit distillation or smuggling of alcohol has not been carried in the particular village, the resolution would be binding upon the Excise and Taxation Commissioner of the state. | Patiala, October 4 The concerted efforts to discourage alcohol consumption in the villages, undertaken by some NGOs, have finally started bringing desired results. Earlier, in February this year, with a view to completely end the practice of alcohol consumption in their villages, panchayats of 44 villages of eight districts of Punjab, which included 22 from Sangrur only, had passed a resolution, under Section 40 of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act (PRA) 1994, urging the Excise and Taxation authorities not to allow liquor shops be opened in their villages from the next fiscal. Eight months after, the number of village panchayats in Sangrur that have passed similar resolution have gone up to 45. Social activist Kamal Anand said two NGOs- People for Transparency and Scientific Awareness and Social Welfare Forum Sangrur (SASWF)- have made earnest efforts to educate and make the panchayats aware about their right, under Section 40 of the Punjab PRA 1994. "After a lot of brainstorming sessions, finally 23 more panchayats have now passed the resolution, urging the Excise and Taxation authorities to stop the opening of the liquor shops in their villages," said president of SASWF Dr AS Mann. Notably, in February this year, apart from 22 village panchayats of Sangrur, the villages of some other districts that had taken similar initiative include Mohali, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur, Barnala, Ludhiana, Patiala and Faridkot. Speaking to The Tribune, sarpanch of various Sangrur villages, including Paramjit Singh of Changel village, Pyara Singh of Fatehgarh Channa and Gurtej Singh of Seron said they did not want the youth to spoil their life by getting addicted to alcohol. "Some NGOs have spread awareness about the relevant Act under the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act and subsequently we have decided to put forward the resolution that disallows the opening of liquor shops in villages," they told TNS. Kamal Anand, who is also an RTI activist, said majority of panchayats in the state were not aware about this revolutionary power under the Punjab PRA 1994. "Especially, women representatives in panchayats must have proper knowledge about this provision, so they can at least think of exercising this right," he asserted, while adding that it was actually the duty of the state government to educate panchayats about the provisions of the Punjab PRA 1994 |
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