To woo big investments, liquor outlets to open in Kerala IT parks

The new liquor policy of the LDF government, that allows opening of liquor outlets in IT parks, is being seen as a move to attract big companies and investment into Kerala. It had been reported earlier that some companies had put a vibrant night life as a condition to set up establishments in Kerala.

The new policy not only increases the facilities at the IT park premises and but also aims at increasing revenue through providing more licences to private firms. The policy also allows individuals and groups to manufacture liquor and wine from locally available fruits.

‘Bubbly nightlife’

The decision to open bars inside the IT parks has been widely accepted by the employees and employers, as they feel this will promote a ‘bubbly nightlife’ arrangement around the IT parks.  Serving liquor in ‘specially designated areas’ within IT parks is a long pending demand from the IT sector, Times Now reported.

The opposition UDF and church organisations have opposed the move. The previous Congress-led UDF government had closed down all bars in hotels with a rating below five stars in 2014. But since 2016, when LDF came back to power, the policy had been weakened step by step. In June 2017, the government allowed hotels with 3- and 4-star ratings to sell Indian-made foreign liquor. Two-star hotels were allowed to run beer and wine parlours, provided they were at least 500 metres off the highways as per Supreme Court order.

Even LDF ally CPI had opposed the move in 2020. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had in November 2021 endorsed the idea of starting pubs within the limits of IT parks as he had believed that it would initiate steps to encourage the necessary nightlife infrastructure for IT parks, reports The Indian Express. Vijayan had stated that a pulsating nightlife is one of the few conditions put forward by IT companies. He had then said that multinational companies before their investment will also check if the IT space and infrastructure has night life infrastructure around the hub.

Revenue contribution

As per the latest figures of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco), the sole distributor of wholesale liquor in Kerala, the revenue contribution till February 2021 was Rs 10,379.38 crore, almost half of the state’s total revenue, The Sunday Guardian reported adding, Bevco has around 400 outlets in the state, where serpentine queues can be seen at any time of the day when the shops are open.

The report further pointed out that last year, the High Court had pulled up the state government for “inhuman” treatment of customers who have to undergo “torture” for obtaining their favourite drink. The court directed the state government to set up liquor outlets in a “civilised and cultured manner”.