BJP opposes Karnataka’s ban on gutkha, says it would hurt areca growers

Bengaluru: The Opposition BJP on Friday opposed Karnataka’s one-year ban on gutkha, saying the move could hurt areca nut growers across eight districts.

About 1.5 crore families are directly or indirectly dependent on areca nut for their livelihood, BJP state president BY Vijayendra said. He said he would meet Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and seek withdrawal of the notification.

Karnataka cultivates areca nut across 6.76 lakh hectares, compared with 9.49 lakh hectares nationally, and produces about one million tonnes annually, accounting for a large share of India's 1.4 million tonnes of output, Vijayendra said.


He also claimed Karnataka accounts for Rs 465 crore of the Rs 600 crore GST collected nationally from areca nut-related business.

Vijayendra said areca nut has health benefits, citing Ayurveda, and accused the government of encouraging liquor sales by setting targets for officials while banning gutkha.

“If this decision is not withdrawn immediately, we will have to face a difficult situation in the future,” he said.

Ban follows CM’s warning

Karnataka earlier this week prohibited the manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of gutkha, pan masala and other products containing tobacco and nicotine for one year, citing public health concerns.

The Food Safety and Drugs Administration issued the notification under Section 30(2)(a) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011.

The ban came weeks after Shivakumar warned the pan masala and gutkha industry that his government would prohibit such products if authorities found intoxicating substances being added to products sold to consumers.