Citing a rise in spurious liquor sales and a failed prohibition, the AKMWC urges the Nagaland government to repeal the NLTP Act of 1989. (Photo Courtesy: Pixabay | For representational purpose only)
Kohima, February 23 (MExN): The Association of Kohima Municipal Wards Council (AKMWC) has called for the repeal of the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act, 1989, asserting that the three-decade-old law has failed to curb consumption and instead fuelled a thriving black market for spurious liquor.
Following a general body meeting in September 2024 and a subsequent survey, the AKMWC claimed that over 500 illegal liquor outlets were operating across the 19 wards. The Association described the ground reality as one where toxic liquor is available “24x7, 365 days a year” despite the tireless efforts of ward and colony councils and their subordinate bodies.
A statement issued by AKMWC President Thejao Sekhose, General Secretary Hukato Chishi, and Press Secretary Neizokhotuo Belho highlighted that periodic surprise raids at ungodly hours, penalties, warnings, public shaming, destruction of illicit stock and even expulsion from localities have failed to produce lasting deterrence.
AKMWC pointed to the government’s consistent stance that enforcement is hindered by manpower constraints. “The Act, though well-intentioned, failed to account for predictable human behaviour,” it stated. “No jurisdiction, however strict, has successfully enforced total prohibition without leakage. Even states and nations claiming absolute prohibition confront smuggling, illicit distillation and substitution with narcotics such as Khap, Opium and other substances. Total prohibition, in practice, is fiction.”
The Association noted that prohibition has merely driven the trade underground, with mineral water shops, juice stalls, pan shops and even residential quarters with runner boys freely dispensed spurious and adulterated liquor at exorbitant rates. “A gentle knock at midnight or a phone call was sufficient,” it claimed.
AKMWC raised alarms over the public health impact, including premature deaths, chronic illness, and a shift toward cheaper narcotics among the youth. The illegal trade, the AKMWC added, is also fostering “corruption of governmental agencies and strengthening of criminal elements.”
In view of these findings, the AKMWC in its General Body Meeting held on June 9, 2025, resolved to proposes a “regulatory framework rooted in practicality and learned experience to achieve the core objectives of the Act without perpetuating its failure.”
The proposed framework includes replacing blanket criminalisation with a tightly regulated licensing system; capping the number of outlets district wise; empower wards and villages with statutory veto over retail establishments within their jurisdictions and prohibit sales near educational and religious institutions. It has also called for strict age verification and quantities limits per individual, restricts sale hours and days, and impose high excise duties with statutory earmarking for addiction treatment, rehabilitation and sustained public health messaging. AKMWC recommended establishing a digital supply tracking mechanism to prevent diversion and to provide severe penalties for illicit distillation, adulteration and smuggling.
Taking aim at opposition from “certain religious groups,” the AKMWC termed recent attempts to dismiss legitimate public distress and inclusive civic engagement by civil society organisations as a “whirlwind of public opinion” as unfortunate and unacceptable in a secular democracy.
“The era of threats with fire, brimstone and Damnation is gone, done, over,” it asserted. “Obdurate attempts to block amendment of the NLTP Act serve neither God nor man,” it said, appealing to all sections of society to “confront reality” and assist the government in undertaking practical reforms for the greater good. “At the very least, stop obstructing solutions if you refuse to be part of one,” it urged.
