Nagpur, Dec 9 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday told the state assembly that the government will invoke the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against masterminds and organised networks involved in the illegal sale and trade of banned gutka, pan masala and other chewable tobacco products.

He said that the government will move amendments to strengthen the law. CM’s announcement comes days after the government’s move to use MCOCA to tackle organised crime, especially against drug trafficking.

Earlier, the Minister of State for Home, Pankaj Bhoyar, in his reply to a question by Prashant Thakur and others, said that flying squads have been established to stop the sale of gutka in the vicinity of schools.

He further told the Assembly that the government has established district-level narco-coordination centres and committees to combat narcotics. The government is also focusing on the strict implementation of the COTPA Act (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003) and the effective implementation of the national programme to curb tobacco.

Minister Bhoyar said that periodically, the police department sends dummy consumers to check the sale of goods other than chocolates in the shops situated in the vicinity of schools. Adequate publicity is being given through social media, including Facebook and X, through police commissionerates and educational institutions about the impact of addiction.

He said that the government has asked all police stations to urge the urban and local bodies to remove shops illegally selling tobacco, gutka and cigarettes within a 100-meter radius of schools and colleges.

The sale of gutka, pan masala and all forms of chewable tobacco is banned in Maharashtra under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the state enforces this ban strictly, especially around educational institutions.

The state government’s action against the illegal sale of gutka, particularly near schools, involves a multi-pronged approach. The primary action is taken by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), often in collaboration with the local police.

–IANS

sj/skp