A move is reportedly afoot in Kerala’s Congress-led UDF Government to effectively defeat the spirit of its own ‘total liquor-ban in ten years’ plan by divesting local self-Government institutions of their authority to decide whether bars should be permitted or not in their jurisdictions. The move is intended at simplifying procedures for allotting bar licences to five-star hotels.
As per the present system, no-objection certificates issued by the concerned local self-government institutions are mandatory for operating bars anywhere in Kerala. This system was introduced in the State strictly in 2012 with the intention of checking the mushrooming of bars in the context of increasing liquor consumption.
The State Excise Department is said to have initiated the move to get the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and Kerala Municipalities Act amended for taking away the local institutions' authority to issue NOCs. The plan is to bring in these amendments in the next session of the Assembly if the High Court settles the case regarding closure of all other bars in the State before that.
The Excise Department feels that the local self-government institutions are likely to misuse their authority to issue NOCs to bars out of various considerations. It is said that there have been several instances of panchayat and municipal councils taking arbitrary decisions on applications for NOCs for bars.
As per the liquor policy announced by the Government in August, all bars in the State, except those at five-star hotels, had to be closed down immediately and ten percent of the existing retail liquor outlets were to closed down every year leading to total liquor ban within a period of ten years. There are 20 bars operating in five-star hotels in the State.
While exempting the bars at five-star hotels from the purview of the new liquor policy, the State Government had said that it was a matter to be decided by the Centre though it had long back removed the clause that bars were mandatory for five-star classification. The Government also argued that five-star bars were given exemption considering the demands of the tourism industry.
The licences of 418 of the total 730 bars were closed down on March 31 last. The remaining 292 bars (20 were in the five-star sector) were to be closed down by September 12 as per a Government order but the bar owners earned permission from the Supreme Court to run their establishments till the High Court settled the case regarding the closure order.
The Excise Department is now accused of trying to exploit the loophole in the liquor policy that it does not prevent issuance of licences to new bars at five-star hotels. The Government is also not against issuance of licence to five-star bars, say sources. Several hotels have complained that local self-government institutions are refusing to issue NOCs for bars to them.
Observers say that the Government move has a double-drawback. On the one hand, it is against the spirit of the liquor policy the Government itself is projecting as one of its greatest achievements. On the other hand, it would amount to reserving enjoyment of booze for the rich, they say.