Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 31 (PTI) Excise Minister M Liju on Saturday said three excise officials had been suspended for granting bar licences to three hotels in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts in violation of the government’s stand that no licences would be granted until a new liquor policy was formulated.
In a Facebook post, the minister said the UDF government had decided not to grant licences to any new bars until a new liquor policy was formulated, taking into account the state’s social environment and tourism sector.
However, two hotels in Ernakulam district and one in Kottayam district were granted bar licences by the respective Deputy Excise Commissioners in violation of the directive, he said.
The minister said he sought an urgent report from the Excise Commissioner after the matter came to his notice and subsequently suspended the officials who granted the licences.
Liju said the government would take strict action against officials who acted against its policy.
Explaining the background, the minister said the then Oommen Chandy-led UDF government restricted bar licences in 2014 to hotels with five-star or five-star deluxe classification. Before that, hotels with two-star or higher classification were eligible for such licences.
As a result, the number of operational bars in the state came down from 730 to 29 by the time the Oommen Chandy government completed its term in 2016, he said.
In 2017, the subsequent LDF government amended the rules to allow hotels with three-star and above classification to obtain bar licences, replacing the earlier five-star eligibility criterion.
Based on the amended provisions, 410 hotels were granted bar licences during the first LDF government’s tenure and another 78 during its second term, taking the total to 488, the minister said.
Later, speaking to reporters, Liju said that the UDF had contested the Assembly election promising to formulate a new liquor policy.
“The UDF went to the people with a clear position that permissions for bars would be considered only after examining the social implications. The people accepted that position and the UDF government came to power,” he said.
The minister said around 29 applications for new bar licences were pending when the UDF government assumed office.
The government had informed the applicants through the Excise Commissioner that decisions on the applications could be taken only after the formulation of a new excise policy.
“This position was also conveyed before the Kerala High Court. A bar licence is not an automatic right of everyone who applies for it. It is a matter within the discretion of the government,” he said.
Liju said that although excise officials had statutory powers under the existing rules to grant licences to eligible hotels with the required star classification, the government had decided not to issue fresh licences until the new policy was finalised.
He said a similar situation had arisen in the case of Horti Wines.
Though the rules amended by the previous LDF government empowered the Excise Commissioner to grant licences, officials were expected to understand the new government’s stand and consult it before taking decisions.
“Instead of understanding the government’s position and consulting it, licences to sell Horti Wines were granted to bakeries. That was why action had to be taken against the officials concerned,” he said.
Referring to the latest incident involving three hotels in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts, the minister said the Deputy Excise Commissioners had granted licences by invoking provisions introduced through amendments during the previous LDF government.
He said the officials had exercised their statutory powers to give licences without informing or consulting the government, despite the government’s clearly stated position that no decision on new bar licences would be taken until the new excise policy was formulated.
“Granting licences unilaterally without informing the government was contrary to the assurance given before the High Court as well. That is why the government had to take immediate action in the matter,” he said. PTI TBA TBA ADB
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