Bhubaneswar, Dec. 12: To give more teeth to the existing Excise Act in its fight against bootleggers, the Orissa government will introduce three Bills, including the Orissa Excise Bill, 2004, in the current session of the Assembly.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet here yesterday.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, chief secretary Subash Pani said provisions of the Bihar and Orissa Excise Act, 1915, are inadequate to deal with offenders.

The pressure to deal with the liquor mafia has been mounting, he said, adding that the situation warrants the repeal of the Act and the incorporation of new provisions to take on bootleggers.

Several offences are bailable under the present Act. While the minimum penalty is only Rs 200, the minimum prison term awarded to offenders is six months, Pani said.

The chief secretary pointed out that penalty for abetment of any offence has been proposed. While the minimum penalty will be increased from Rs 200 to Rs 5,000, the prison term for serious offences will be 10 years. The existing term will be doubled for other offences, he added.

Offences would be treated as bailable or non-bailable depending on the quantum of punishment, Pani said. He added that property acquired by convicted persons would be forfeited under the proposed Excise Act.

Besides, it has been proposed that compensation will be recovered from offenders in case of injury or death of any person after consumption of spurious liquor. The new law has provisions to accord more power to the revenue, police, excise and customs departments for prevention of excise offences, he added.