Thiruvananthapuram: The LDF government's new liquor policy, which has been approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, has not used the word 'pub' but will facilitate the serving of liquor in "specially designated areas within IT parks".
It also seeks to drastically augment the local production of liquor and will encourage the manufacture of low-alcohol liquor from locally produced fruits. Further, retail outlets that were shut down earlier would be reopened as premium outlets.
For serving liquor, "special licences will be granted with strict conditions". "It is important to provide such licences if Kerala is to be made investor friendly," an official statement released after the Cabinet meeting said. The official statement also notes that there is a complaint that Kerala does not provide enough avenues for the leisure of techies.
As it stands, bar licence is granted only to hotels with three-star or above classification. The parameters for granting the "special licence" in IT parks have still not been spelled out.
The introduction of "pub culture" in Kerala had met with stiff opposition from within the Left, which considers such a culture one of the worst manifestations of capitalism.
Last year, the CPM state committee itself had advised the government against the move. The CPI, which has consistently opposed the introduction of pubs, has reportedly expressed its differences in the Cabinet even today. In fact, the Draft Liquor Policy did not give even a remote sense that a pub-like arrangement would be created within IT parks.
Nonetheless, it looks like Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has had his way. Pinarayi was in no two minds about letting the techies have a bubbly nightlife. Last November he said that the government would initiate steps to develop and encourage the necessary nightlife infrastructure for IT parks.
"We had seriously thought of this earlier but could not take the necessary steps because of COVID. Now that we are opening up, we will go ahead," he had then said.
Pinarayi even hinted that such a policy was dictated not by ideology but by the competitive requirements of growth. "When big IT companies come to Kerala, their mostly young employees would naturally want the facilities they enjoyed in other IT hotspots in the country. That we lack such facilities has become a big disadvantage for us," the chief minister had said.
Pinarayi has said that a throbbing night life was one of the conditions for big companies to invest in Kerala. "The representatives these big companies send to assess the facilities in Kerala would report back that Kerala was far behind in terms of providing avenues for leisure. We then drop far down in their list of priority destinations," the chief minister said.
Pinarayi has a point. It is said that when the auto giant Nissan planned to open its first global digital hub in Kerala, a night life infrastructure around the hub was one of its major demands.
The new policy also speaks of the need to ensure the availability of liquor in tourism destinations. "Liquor cannot be done away with in areas like MICE tourism (Meeting, Incentives, Conferences, Conventions, Exhibitions and Events)," the post-Cabinet brief said.
This could be an indication that most of the 100-odd new Beverages Corporation outlets that will be opened as part of the new policy will come up in tourism spots.
The new policy will also seek to improve local production of liquor and beer. This it seeks to achieve by augmenting the capacity of the existing units and also by granting new brewery licences. Attempts to grant brewery licences during the tenure of the first Pinarayi ministry had failed following allegations of corruption.
The policy will also encourage the manufacture of 'light liquor' from fruits like cashew, pineapple, jackfruit and banana. "Most of these locally-produced fruits are going to waste. It will be advantageous to Kerala if these are put to productive use," the statement said.
