Kerala ignores Centre fiat on liquor licences based on star category of hotels
The ministry communicated its objections to the state a couple of times over the last few years.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala keeps on ignoring the centre's repeated objections against the practice of allowing liquor licences based on star category of hotels. The union tourism ministry has been of the view that linking bar licence and star category of hotels could affect the quality of services at star category hotels. The ministry communicated its objections to the state a couple of times over the last few years. But the previous UDF and current LDF governments have ignored it as liquor policy is a state subject. According to government sources, the union tourism ministry had maintained that owing to Kerala's policy of allowing bar licence based on the category of hotels, the hotel classification process could come under undue pressures and it could eventually affect the quality of services at star category hotels.
The ministry had communicated to the state government in 2011 and 2012 that it did not favour making star category a pre-condition for getting a bar licence. The matter was also taken up with the stakeholders in 2015. In a letter sent to Kochi-based Tourism Entrepreneurs Association last year, the ministry said that despite making several requests by the ministry, the state government had not de-linked bar licence and hotel category, said the official.
In 2012, the then Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai in the previous Manmohan Singh government had personally written to the then Chief Minister Mr. Oommen Chandy citing that the state’s liquor policy of restricting bar licence only to hotels would badly hit the tourism sector, especially the availability of budget hotels. He had also urged Mr. Chandy to seriously review the liquor policy that could impact the hotel classification system.