Hooch tragedy: Punjab asks Centre to regulate methanol use

Chandigarh: Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday asked the Centre to take immediate steps to regulate the use of methyl alcohol or methanol under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act.

Cheema has written a letter to Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal after 23 people, who consumed spurious liquor, died in Majitha town of Amritsar.

An official statement said the minister's request comes in the wake of repeated hooch tragedies across the country, resulting in the loss of innocent lives due to the unregulated use of highly toxic industrial chemical, methyl alcohol.

Highlighting the incidents of mass casualties caused by the consumption of spurious liquor linked to the clandestine use of methanol, Cheema underscored the "serious" regulatory vacuum.

He said the physical appearance, odour, and sedative properties of methanol closely resemble those of ethyl alcohol, making it a silent killer when diverted into the illicit liquor supply chain.

Methanol is a light, colourless organic chemical compound which is poisonous when ingested and is illegally added to alcoholic beverages as a cheaper alternative to ethanol, which is the normal consumable alcohol.

Cheema pointed out that despite the Central government's powers to regulate industrial alcohol under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, methanol continues to fall into a grey area, leading to systematic failures in monitoring and compliance.

He stressed that the present legal framework does not sufficiently address the supply chain vulnerabilities of this substance, nor does it mandate tracking mechanisms, registration of buyers, or cross-state regulation.

Cheema urged the Centre to treat the regulation of methanol as a matter of national interest, demanding centralised, legally enforceable action.

He recommended immediate amendment of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, to explicitly include methanol as a regulated industry/substance, along with the issuance of specific and binding rules or notifications to regulate its manufacture, possession, sale, storage, and movement.

The minister also suggested implementing a central mandate to track and trace the movement of methanol, including barcoding or electronic tracking, and compulsory registration of buyers and strict documentation of usage.

He also sought the framing of supplementary legal provisions or a dedicated national law, establishing a uniform enforcement framework across all states and union territories.

He suggested that this must be supported by stringent penal provisions, real-time inspection protocols, and the capacity to take swift cross-jurisdictional enforcement action.

He emphasised that these measures will not only prevent the misuse of methanol in producing spurious liquor but also strengthen industrial transparency and prevent unauthorised access to hazardous chemicals.

Cheema said there was an urgent action to fill the legislative void and ensure that no life is lost due to a preventable regulatory gap.