8L prohibition-related cases filed since 2016: Excise dept

Patna: Bihar has registered over 8.43 lakh prohibition related cases since liquor ban was implemented in the state in 2016, while over 12 lakh people were arrested for violating liquor ban rules in the period.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, prohibition, excise and registration department, secretary, Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said a total of 8,43,907 cases were registered between April 1, 2016 and August 31, 2024 in the state.“Of the total cases, over 3.70 lakhs were registered by the prohibition and excise department, while the remaining by the police,” he said, adding, as many as 12.79 lakh people were arrested during the said period.
He also said 98% of the total liquor seized by the department had been destroyed till August 2024.
Prohibition, excise and registration department, minister Ratnesh Sada was also present at the press conference.
A total of 8,208 buildings or plots have also been seized in liquor-related cases and 41 drones have been deployed for tracking and monitoring illegal liquor activities. As many as 84 checkposts at various locations are functional to check illegal smuggling of liquor, said the secretary.
Number of liquor-related complaints arriving in call centres have gone up to 300-400 per day, in comparison to 70-80 received earlier.
The department has collected revenue of Rs 3,305 crore till August 2024 against the set target of Rs 7,500 crore for the fiscal 2024-25. The amount collected is 44.08% of the set goal, said Gunjiyal.
He said the state govt would soon expand the facility of “e-nibandhan” in the state that would help citizens apply for registration from any place.
“The new software, e-nibandhan, was launched as a pilot project in five registration offices of Jehanabad, Danapur, Patna City, Fatuha and Bihta in July, and it was adopted at 11 more offices in September in the second phase. Now, we plan to expand the facility in the entire registration offices of the state,” he said.
The secretary said digitization of nearly 2.34 crore registered documents, from 1995 to the present, was completed, while 5.13 crore documents from 1796 to 1995 would be digitized soon.
The department also plans to install stamp vending machines at the registration offices.