The Maharashtra government has moved into a no-nonsense mode against the rampant illegal sale of tobacco products, pan masala and narcotic substances around schools and colleges. During Question Hour in the state legislature, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis delivered a firm message that the administration would pursue “zero tolerance” toward anyone putting students’ safety and health at risk.

Responding to a series of questions on the issue, Fadnavis confirmed that police across the state had already filed multiple FIRs against individuals caught supplying or selling banned items inside and near educational premises. He further revealed that the state is preparing a major legal overhaul to allow the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) to be applied specifically against habitual peddlers and suppliers of products such as gutkha, pan masala, charas and other intoxicants.

Explaining the government’s plan, the Chief Minister said, “Under the present MCOCA framework, there must be an element of threat or physical harm. We have already submitted a proposal to amend the law so recurring offenders in the illegal trade of banned substances can be booked under MCOCA without such conditions.”

Fadnavis emphasised that existing laws lack the strength to dismantle well-organised supply chains operating around campuses. “There is a need to make the law more stringent and effective,” he added, stressing that selling addictive substances to students is a grave offence that will now attract strict and exemplary punishment.

The issue was highlighted initially by BJP MLA Prashant Thakur, after which Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh questioned why the stringent provisions of MCOCA had not been invoked earlier against repeat violators of the gutkha ban.

Data presented by the Chief Minister shows the scale of the problem: hundreds of cases have been recorded across districts — including Navi Mumbai (1,144), Buldhana (634), Yavatmal (1,706), Jalna (90), Nashik (133), Chandrapur (230), Solapur (108), Ahmednagar (185), Akola (35), and Nagpur (49).

For breaches of the gutkha ban, offenders have been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to poisoning and food adulteration, along with relevant sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.