Mizoram eases dry law, allows liquor on health grounds

HC Vanlalruata

Aizawl: Mizoram govt on Tuesday issued a notification allowing individuals to consume and possess liquor on health grounds under Section 45 B(1) of the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2025.

Applicants seeking the permit, known as the ‘Red Card’, must pay Rs 50 for the application and an annual fee of Rs  5,000 for possession rights under the scheme.

The Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Act, 2019, was enacted during the early months of the Mizo National Front (MNF) administration. However, its rules were notified only in 2022, barely a year before the regime ended, allowing limited production of local grape wines while denying tourists and residents with legitimate grounds the right to consume or possess alcohol in the dry state.

The MLTP Rules 2022, popularly known as the ‘wine rules’, permitted only wine made from grapes cultivated in Champhai district bordering Myanmar. The rules ignored tourists and permanent residents who sought exemptions similar to those granted to foreigners in several Muslim‑majority countries where dry laws are relaxed for visitors.

The Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) govt, which assumed office on Dec 8, 2023, had pledged to ease the prohibition for the benefit of cash‑crop farmers. The administration has since softened the 2019 law, enabling farmers to process fruits into wine or beer for better marketing prospects.

After more than a year of deliberation, the ZPM govt has now permitted the issuance of liquor consumption and possession permits on health grounds, following the MLP (Amendment) Act, 2025 passed on March 9, 2025. The amendment also legalises the production of wine and beer using local produce such as grapes, dragon fruit, pineapple, guava, amla (Phyllanthus emblica), and banana to support farmers.

Mizoram’s long‑standing prohibition stems largely from the influence of the powerful church, which regards drinking as a sin. Political leaders have historically bowed to this sentiment, maintaining dry laws since 1972, when Mizoram became a Union Territory.

Ironically, the first prohibition law — the Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1995 — was enacted under a Congress government led by Lal Thanhawla, who had earlier permitted liquor shops under the Mizoram Excise Act, 1973 in 1984. His government reopened liquor shops in 2015 under the Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition and Control) Act, 2014, which was later repealed by the MNF’s MLP Act, 2019.