Finally,UP to ban gutkha from April next year

A day after the expiry of the 14-day deadline set by the Allahabad High Court,the UP government on Wednesday decided to ban the manufacture,sale and consumption of gutkha with effect from April 1,2013.

Justifying its decision to give six months’ time to gutkha manufacturers,the government said this was necessary to help those engaged in the industry to find alternative occupation and employment. A division bench of Allahabad High Court,comprising Justices Amar Saran and Anurag Kumar,had given 14 days time to the state government to ban gutkha on September 18. The deadline ended on October 2,which was a holiday. On Wednesday,the state government issued the necessary order. The ban has been imposed keeping in view the Food Safety and Standards Act,passed by Parliament,an official statement said. Like other states which have followed the Act,UP is also imposing a ban on gutkha industry which had been operating for a long time in the state,it added. Among the states which have already banned gutkha are Delhi,Maharashtra,Gujarat,Bihar,Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan and Haryana. The next hearing of the PIL,which was filed by Indian Dental Association and Dr A K Mehrotra,an activist working for the prevention of cancer,is scheduled for October 10.