Liquor ban to upset salaries

Kochi: The revenue loss to be incurred by the State on account of the Government’s decision to close down all bars except those belonging to the five-star category, would have a serious impact on its ability to implement the recommendations of the 10th Pay Commission, said Justice C.N.Ramachandran Nair, Chairman of the commission, here, on Sunday.Coming down on the new liquor policy, Justice Nair said the State, which had been collecting Rs10,000 cr from the sale of liquor, would not be able to easily find an alternative source of such revenue, he said.

“An amount of Rs10,000 cr is huge and it is not easy to replace that much money in short notice,” he said. Already, 77 per cent of the State’s revenue was being spent on meeting the salary and pension obligations of Government servants and debt servicing, he pointed out. “With the scope for increasing revenue looking bleak, the quantum of money spent on development activities in the State will shrink further”, he added.

The report of the 10th Pay Commission covering the salary and revision of 5.3 lakh Government employees and pensioners was expected to be submitted in December, Justice Nair said. The commission was originally scheduled to submit its report in July, but, the Government granted the commission an extension of six months. “Since the Government has to fulfill the obligations of implementing the pay panel recommendations, the development prospects of the State will be the worst sufferer”, he said.

“The State is already lagging in infrastructure development in areas such as railways, due to its inability to raise the 20 or 50 per cent share required for undertaking such projects”, he pointed out. “As we are unable to provide 20 per cent of the share required for joint ventures, the State is losing 80 per cent of the Central assistance”, he added. The Government had adopted a liquor policy without going in for any meaningful discussions with various stakeholders, he said. “Illicit liquor trade will become a cottage industry in the State due to the new liquor policy”, he added.