Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration has invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Gutka manufacturers, treating the banned substance's production and sale as organised crime rather than a routine regulatory violation. According to reports from NDTV Profit, FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe explained that Gutka has been prohibited in Maharashtra since 2004 under Section 30 of the Food Safety Act, with the decision to invoke MCOCA following the discovery of a wide network of individuals working together across the supply chain. The latest developments show the state government's commitment to expanding this enforcement approach to address other organised crime networks.
As reported by NDTV Profit, Mundhe described the situation as 'organised crime' involving multiple players working in a nexus. The FDA has filed over 700 FIRs related to Gutka violations across the state, forming the basis for invoking the stringent law. MCOCA applies to prohibited activities involving punishment of more than three years, some of which attract life imprisonment, and requiring more than two people to be involved in the illegal activities. The state government's recent announcement of MCOCA invocation against criminal syndicates exploiting children for illegal activities demonstrates the comprehensive nature of this enforcement approach.
According to the NDTV Profit interview, the FDA is now compiling individual dossiers on everyone linked to the trade, from manufacturers to transporters and sellers, as it builds cases under MCOCA. Mundhe stated that the objective is to eliminate the substance entirely from the state. The commissioner emphasized that the department's approach stems from poor implementation of existing food safety law over the years, with the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 and regulations framed in 2011 and 2018 suffering from weak enforcement. This strategy is being replicated across multiple sectors as the state government expands its MCOCA enforcement initiatives.
As reported by NDTV Profit, the crackdown on Gutka forms part of a broader enforcement push by the FDA under Mundhe's tenure, who has also targeted milk and dairy products, the hotel and restaurant industry, and spurious drugs. The commissioner noted that Maharashtra's food business ecosystem includes more than 11 lakh registered food business operators, underlining the need for firm regulatory action against banned and harmful products moving through informal networks. The state government's recent announcement of MCOCA invocation against unauthorised IVF centres and illegal sonography clinaries involved in gender-determination activities demonstrates the comprehensive nature of this enforcement approach.
