![\"'Prohibition](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-128502838,imgsize-1133017,width-400,resizemode-4\/file-photo.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNEW DELHI: Calls for a rethink of Bihar\u2019s decade-old liquor ban have resurfaced within the ruling alliance, with NDA allies urging chief minister Nitish Kumar<\/a> to review the policy. Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said the principle of prohibition was not flawed but its implementation had gone awry. \u201cWe have been saying for a long time that the liquor policy is not wrong, and prohibition should be implemented. However, there are flaws in its implementation,\u201d he said.“In our state, the enforcement officers catch those very people, while those who do large-scale smuggling are being let off after taking money. Nitish Kumar should take action. Prohibition is causing significant financial losses to the Bihar government, and Nitish Kumar should address this,” Manjhi told ANI\u201cProhibition is causing significant financial losses to the Bihar government, and Nitish Kumar should address this,\u201d Manjhi said, urging stricter action against corruption in enforcement.The ban, introduced in 2016 when Nitish Kumar was heading the Mahagathbandhan government, has led to more than 8.43 lakh cases and nearly 12.8 lakh arrests, as per an earlier report by TOI<\/a>. Yet concerns over revenue have intensified. Before prohibition, Bihar earned over Rs 3,000 crore annually from liquor sales. With fresh welfare commitments likely to cost upwards of Rs 28,000 crore \u2014 including direct cash transfers to women, higher pensions and electricity subsidies \u2014 the state\u2019s stretched finances have prompted murmurs within the NDA about whether the ban is sustainable. Bihar\u2019s fiscal deficit stood at 9.2% of GSDP last year.Rashtriya Lok Morcha MLA Madhav Anand, also an NDA ally, called in the Assembly for a \u201cdetailed review\u201d of the law. \u201cIt is 10 years since the prohibition law was enacted\u2026 An assessment should be made as to what we have gained and lost in the last ten years,\u201d he said, claiming liquor remained available through home delivery and that drug use among youths had risen.<\/div>\n\n