Jorhat, March 28: To ensure that no political party exceeds the expenditure limit set by the Election Commission of India and to prevent distribution of liquor among voters by any candidate or party ahead of the ensuing polls, the commission has directed all districts to monitor licensed wine shops and stockists on a daily basis during the period when the model code of conduct remains enforced.

The commission has also directed the districts to closely monitor activities of self-help groups and NGOs to prevent possible attempts by political parties to use such organisations to distribute money or materials among voters.

Sources told The Telegraph that daily reports on lifting of stocks of all kinds of alcoholic beverages by the retailers from the bonded warehouses and sale of different kinds of products by the retailers were being collected by the excise department and submitted to the district or sub-divisional expenditure monitoring cells in accordance with a pro-forma prepared by the commission. Similarly, stockists, too, were filing daily reports to the excise staff, which, after inspection, were submitted to the expenditure cell.

They said the monitoring cells had been asked to tally the figures of stocks lifted by the retailers with the figures of stocks sold to the wine shops by the bonded warehouses. Moreover, the excise department had been asked to monitor the sales figure of all kinds of liquor in the corresponding period last year to find out if there was “unusual increase” in the sales figure.

The excise department has also been directed to ensure strict compliance of the opening and closing time of wine shops and bars — 10am and 10pm respectively.

The commission has further directed formation of special teams in the districts to conduct raids, seize illicit liquor and to prevent transportation of the same to be distributed among voter to influence them. The excise department has also been asked to check the production and supply figures of various alcoholic liquor products in the distilleries (if located in a district).

For proper compliance of the commission’s directives in this regard, the districts have been asked to appoint nodal officers in each district and a state-level nodal officer of the excise department, who will keep the chief electoral officer posted about the compliance of the directive.

The commission has also directed the excise and police departments to maintain a vigil in districts sharing borders with neighbouring states to check inter-state movement of all kinds of Indian Made Foreign Liquor, beer and country liquor. It has also asked for setting up of additional check-posts, if necessary, to check vehicles.

The excise commissioner of Assam has been directed by the commission to coordinate with the counterparts of neighbouring states to prevent illegal shipment of liquor across the states.

In another directive, the commission has said, in view of earlier complaints in regard to self-help groups and NGOs being made conduits by the political parties or candidates for distribution of money or materials and their utilisation for election campaigns, the district administrations should closely watch the activities of such organisations.

“In as much as the revolving fund/economic assistance is channelled through the district rural development agencies, it should be easily possible to monitor the self-help groups closely so as to ensure that they are not utilised for distribution of money/materials which is a corrupt practice and an electoral offence with reference to the provisions of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 and the IPC,” the directive said.