The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has cancelled the licences of 15 methanol-related companies and suspended 28 others in Pune division after a hooch tragedy claimed 19 lives, bringing all 102 licensed methanol-related entities in the division under inspection.
The enforcement drive was launched as part of a statewide crackdown on companies involved in the storage, sale and handling of methanol. Pune division has the highest number of methanol-related companies in Maharashtra, prompting the administration to intensify inspections over the past four months.
The FDA said the inspections were intended to check compliance with existing regulations and prevent the misuse of methanol. Authorities have clarified that licence cancellation and suspension are separate administrative actions. The specific grounds for action against each company would have to be obtained from the concerned department.
The action places the focus on how methanol is stored, purchased, sold and handled across a large network of licensed businesses. Officials said regulations governing these activities were already in place, indicating that the current drive is centred on enforcement of existing provisions rather than the introduction of new rules.
The FDA inspected all 102 licensed methanol-related companies in Pune division. The inspections followed the tragedy and formed part of a broader effort to verify whether firms were complying with the requirements governing a substance that can be misused and pose serious risks to public safety.
Girish Hukare, assistant commissioner of the FDA’s Pune division, said inspections and verification would continue. Although the department has completed inspections of all 102 licensed entities, officials will continue monitoring compliance and take action wherever violations are detected.
The distinction between cancelled and suspended licences means the administrative consequences are not identical, but the report does not provide company-wise details or the specific violations recorded in each case. Those details would be necessary to establish the precise regulatory basis for the 43 actions.
For Pune’s regulatory system, the next stage will be continued verification of the companies already inspected and further action where non-compliance is found. The FDA has said its monitoring will continue to prevent the misuse of methanol.
