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Booze Is (Not) The Secret Of Our Energy: Following Graft Charges, Kerala Withdraws New Brewery Permits, For Now
Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala Chief Minister (Anushree Fadnavis/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Doomed by corruption allegations by the Opposition on the alleged brewery scam, the Kerala Communist Government has cancelled the sanction awarded for setting up breweries and distilleries, reports The Business Line.
The decision to cancel permits was taken in the midst of the Opposition protests alleging corruption and nepotism by the government.
However, the Chief Minister rejected the allegations as baseless. Explaining the reasons for cancelling the permits, he said his government wanted to avoid ‘confusion’ over the issue at a time when everybody needed to stand united for rebuilding the state after the floods.
Vijayan stood firm on his decision to permit new distilleries in future and said the decision was in accordance with the liquor policy of the Left Democratic Front.
More than 40 per cent of the beer and 8 per cent of the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) requirements of the state is sourced from other states, which necessitates the provision of more distilleries in Kerala, he added. "The state needs more distilleries, they are essential, and the government is bound to give permits after necessary inspection for interested parties", the Chief Minister was quoted as saying.
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