Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam Excise Minister M Liju has said that the UDF government would conduct a detailed examination of 488 bar licences granted during the previous LDF government's tenure and take action if any irregularities are detected.

He was responding to allegations raised by CPI(M) leader and former Excise Minister M B Rajesh over action taken against Excise officials for issuing licences to bars in accordance with the previous LDF government's liquor policy.

"A detailed examination will be conducted into the granting of these 488 bar licences. If any irregularities are found, action will be taken," Liju said in a Facebook post on Thursday night.

These 488 bar licences were granted over 10 years by the previous two Pinarayi Vijayan governments using the authority given to Deputy Excise Commissioners through a rule amendment, he said.

He said the amendment, introduced on June 23, 2017, allowed establishments that had lost their bar licences in 2014 and subsequently operated as beer and wine parlours to regain their licences by submitting fresh applications.

In 2014, the then UDF government led by Oommen Chandy had decided to restrict bar licences to five-star classified hotels, resulting in more than 700 hotels losing their licences and subsequently operating as beer and wine parlours, he said.

Under the 2017 amendment, 410 hotels were granted bar licences during the first LDF government and another 78 during its second term, taking the total to 488, Liju said.

Disputing Rajesh's argument that the Deputy Excise Commissioners were merely exercising their long-standing authority to renew bar licences, Liju said the cases involved establishments that had lost their licences 10 to 12 years earlier.

"Renewal means the annual renewal of an existing bar licence. What happened here was not ordinary renewal but the restoration of licences that had been lost years ago," he said.

Liju said the government would withdraw the authority given to Deputy Excise Commissioners to grant new FL 3 bar licences (foreign liquor) under the provision of renewal.

In his Facebook post, Liju attached the first page of the government gazette notification dated June 23, 2017, which introduced the relevant amendment.

On the issue of FL 7 licences for airport transit lounges, the minister said the category was introduced during the Oommen Chandy government in July 2011, and the authority to issue such licences was vested with the Excise Commissioner at that time.

However, he alleged that the Excise Commissioner had granted two FL 7 licences at the Cochin International Airport on June 22 this year without informing the government.

Another application for an FL 7 licence was subsequently referred to the government, following which the Additional Chief Secretary, on August 4, directed that no decision be taken until the UDF government's liquor policy was announced, he said.

Despite the direction, the Commissioner completed proceedings on another application for an FL 7 licence at the airport on October 12, prompting the government to seek an urgent report from the officer.

The government subsequently stopped the proceedings and directed that no licence be issued, Liju said.

He also said an Excise Deputy Commissioner who took a decision contrary to government policy was removed from the post and two other Deputy Commissioners were suspended.

Responding to Rajesh's argument that the LDF government had introduced an online system for bar licence applications to ensure transparency, Liju said transparency could not be measured merely by the introduction of an online mechanism.

The minister said he had directed that every order issued by the Excise Department should be uploaded on its website to ensure transparency.

"This is what real transparency means," he said, adding that the government intended to change the existing system in the department.

On Rajesh's demand that the minister apologise for allegedly making false statements, Liju said the former minister should instead apologise to the public for attempting to defend decisions taken during his tenure and that of his predecessors.

"I am not the one who should apologise. Rajesh should apologise to the public for misleading them and attempting to cover up irregularities," he said.