Chetan Prabhakar
Is it a time to increase financial burden of the people of UT of Jammu & Kashmir? The imposition of levy of User Fee at public funded toll road at Lakhanpur and passing of new excise policy 20-21 enhancing tax on alcohol by 50% are going to increase the financial burden of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and that too, during the time when people are facing huge financial hardships.
Firstly, why do the Government of UT thinks that the people of Jammu & Kashmir are so irresponsible and unconscious vis-a-vis people of other states and UTs that it felt the need to enhance tax on alcohol by 50 percent on the MRP of liquor bottles in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir to make them conscious of the harmful effect of consuming liquor? The concern of the Government is very bleak and stingy as it has been officially stated while passing the excise policy of 20-21 that ‘the concern has been to optimize revenues from sale of liquor for ‘common good’ and at the same time, to bring about consciousness about harmful effects of consuming liquor and alcoholic beverages’.
Let us evaluate this statement on two bases, one; what ‘common good’ this enhancement of tax on alcohol is going to bring? The most alarming ‘common good’ will be that this policy is going to pocket heavily on the people who consume alcohol, and this is going have adverse financial effect on their families’ household expenses, which is already impacted due to COVID 19. If alcohol consumption is such a bad thing, then, at the first place, why is Government allowing the sale of liquor and trying to optimize the revenues from sale of liquor for ‘common good’? What common good is it going to achieve? As a result of this policy, the people will start drinking low-cost alcoholic drinks, to fit their budget, which will further affect their health. This will be the common good which is going to come by increasing the sin tax on the liquor and alcoholic beverages.
Second is; ‘consciousness about harmful effects of consuming liquor and alcoholic beverages’. This seems to be a statement which has no meaning at all and what this means that only people of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir need to have consciousness about the harmful effects of consuming liquor and people of other states and UTs do not need such consciousness. That is why the rate of liquor and alcoholic beverages is far cheaper and affordable for the people of other states and UTs. This statement, in a way, means that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are the only ones who are unconscious and need to be more conscious about the harmful effects of alcohol than people of other states and UTs.
It is not out of place to mention here that the common consciousness prevailing in the society to which the Government is far from. The people who drink; they drink the same amount of alcohol irrespective of rates. They just change their choices to fit their budget and also try to find others way to find cheap liquor and alcoholic beverages, and that give rise to the market of bootleggers and makers of adulterated liquor, which further increases the health hazards among people.
Are people of other UTs & states more conscious where the liquor is cheap and affordable, than, the people of UT of J&K, where the government has increased the rate of liquor and alcoholic beverages way beyond the affordable reach of the public in general. Is it not an unconscious decision? If liquor and alcoholic beverages are made affordable; people can consume better alcoholic drinks which can reduce the health hazards and problems connected to low-cost alcoholic drinks. And as a matter of reality, only the middle class is going to get impacted form this enhancement of tax with no impact on rich and poor.
Someone has correctly said; power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, that is why; being in absolute power, the present government is functioning out of its own whims and fancies without giving any regard to the sentiments of the public at large. One of the latest examples of such high handedness is imposition of levy of User Fee on Public Funded Toll Road of Lakhanpur/Rajbag that too at a time, where the public at large is going through financial hardships and the Government of UT is aiding in increasing the financial burden of the people of UT of J&K.
The question here is; what has been the emergent need to start the levy of user fee on public funded toll road of Lakhanpur, commercial operations of which were started on 22nd February 2017, and that too at a juncture wherein the public at large is going through financial hardships due to huge economic slow-down amid the pandemic of COVID-19 and in the circumstances, this levy will also impact the fundamental right of the citizens to move freely throughout the territory of India as guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution of India.
In view thereof, the Government of UT of J&K needs to revisit this decision of enhancement of tax on alcohol by 50% which will serve no common good and it also does not seem prudent to say that increasing the cost will bring about consciousness about harmful effects of consuming liquor and alcoholic beverages. People are already aware and conscious about this fact. What people need in this particular time of crisis amid COVID 19 is financial security, stability and assistance and not increase in cost of living. The increase in the rate of liquor/alcoholic beverages and imposition of new user fee at toll plaza of Lakhanpur are definitely going increase the cost of living and put additional financial burden on the people of UT of Jammu & Kashmir.
(The author is an Advocate at Jammu & Kashmir High Court, Jammu)
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