The Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT), Nagaland, has urged the State Government to do away with the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act, 1989 or at least partially lift it along towns and cities bordering with Assam, stating that the Act is simple not implementable.

In a press release, the ACAUT reminded that it is “entirely up to the elected Government of the day to take a call on this matter” and that the State Government should not “cower under pressure of any groups”.  The organisation also said that if the Government decides to continue with the Act, it must clearly state the reason and rationale for arriving at such decision and also “dispel the suspicion” that “a few” within the Government are supporting the Act and “have even been influencing certain individuals from pressure groups.”

The ACAUT opined that majority of Nagas are in favour of lifting the liquor prohibition which it deemed an “utter failure”.

In support of lifting the NLTP Act, it stated the following points:

1. NLTP Act only encourages corruption within the law enforcement agencies and creates mafia culture making criminals within the society that has far reaching consequences in the degradation of the moral fabric of the society. It has totally corrupted the professional class.
2. A regulated and monitored wine shop is much easier for management from a practical stand point than an unregulated booze shop that is there in every nook and cranny of almost every colony, villages and towns and manned and operated by goons and mafias.
3. The problem of Alcoholism and Addiction has always been there, with or without prohibition. Thus, a more pragmatic approach would be for the Government to ensure that certain percentages of revenue generated must go to setup detox and counseling centers.
4. ACAUT opines that the argument for Prohibition from religious and morality perspective has no biblical foundations. Though the moral argument is well meaning but it comes from personal feelings and emotions and not one of pragmatism.
5. The argument that NLTP would be successful if there is seriousness from the Government’s side is one of wishful and fatalistic optimism. The government neither have the manpower nor the funds to conduct such an operation of this scale. Further to be very practical, for this Act to succeed it would require the will and commitment of the general public also. Except for few extremist Islamic countries where punishment is death and where alcohol is seen as Haram, prohibition has succeeded to some extent. Thus, unless the Government of Nagaland wishes to implements death penalty for the drinker, the buyer and the seller, the NLTP Act would never succeed and to hope for otherwise is outright delusional lacking grasp of reality.
6. The early deaths due to consumption of unregulated spurious alcohol is one that seriously needs thorough study however a few conversations with a few doctors and common sense observation would indicate that more and more people are succumbing to alcohol related deaths earlier and much sooner. These people had hardly the time or the opportunity for reforming as they passed away at young age before maturity or realisation could set in. While there is no guarantee that with regulation and opening of wine stores it will do away with spurious alcohol but it certainly is more manageable and would drastically cut down on spurious alcohol.
7. Last but not the least the majority of consumers are not alcoholics thus it would be unfair to rob these people of their quality of life for those few that abuse it.