Mumbai: The state government has decided to ban gutka in the state from May 20 following a notification issued by the Centre.
“Following a notification from the Centre on February 5, the state has decided to ban gutka and food containing mixture of tobacco or nicotine from May 20,’’ said Baba Siddiqui, the minister of state for food and drugs administration. The state had issued similar notifications twice before but was stayed by the high court.
“This time, the state has taken all legal aspects into consideration,’’ the minister said, adding that the production,storage and distribution of gutka will be restricted.
However, the Opposition is till apprehensive about it as it was stalled the last two times. “The government needs to implement the order at least this time,’’ BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said.
“In its earlier attempts to ban gutka, the state had failed because some politicians have a nexus with the gutka lobby,’’ he alleged.
When asked about the gutka lobby, Siddiqui said the government had taken strict measures and was confident of the drive’s success. But, he declined to speak about the revenue loss to the state as a result of the ban. AGENCIES
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