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- Vishal Rambani

Finance, excise minister Harpal Cheema on Wednesday urged the central government to take action to regulate the sale of methyl alcohol under the Industries and Regulation Act.

Union minister of chemicals and fertilisers Piyush Goyal highlighted the incidents of mass casualties caused by the consumption of spurious liquor, linked to the use of methanol. He underscored the serious regulatory gaps. He said the appearance, odour and properties of methanol are similar to those of ethyl alcohol, making it a silent killer that easily gets mixed into the illicit liquor supply chain.

His request comes in the wake of the recent deaths in Punjab's Amritsar district due to spurious liquor. Investigations had revealed the presence of methanol in the samples.

Goyal pointed out that the central government has the powers to regulate the sale of methyl alcohol under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1951, but methyl alcohol continues to fall into a regulatory gap due to a lack of systematic monitoring and compliance.

He added that the present regulatory framework does not sufficiently address the supply chain issues of this substance, and a central mandate for tracking, registration of manufacturers and cross-state regulation is needed. He urged the central government to treat the regulation of methanol as a matter of national interest, demanding legally enforceable rules and recommended immediate amendment of the Industries and Regulation Act, 1951, to explicitly include methyl alcohol as a regulated industry/substance, and the issuance of specific rules or notifications to regulate its manufacture, sale, storage, and distribution.