Opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan on Thursday called the cabinet decision to grant permission to Oasis Commercial Private Limited to start an ethanol plant, multi-feed distillation unit, Indian-made foreign liquor bottling unit, brewery, malt spirit plant, and brandy/winery plant at Kanchikode in Palakkad district mysterious.

In a statement here on Thursday, Satheesan alleged that corruption was the motive behind the cabinet’s decision on Wednesday to allow a global liquor major to establish manufacturing units in Palakkad district. The government should clarify on what basis it allowed Oasis Commercial Private Limited, one of the leading liquor manufacturing companies, to start a brewery in Palakkad, he said. The government should tell the public how only one company was selected and what was the criteria for its selection. He added that the opposition will not allow corruption in the name of liquor manufacturing.

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Satheesan said liquor factories have not been allowed in the state for 26 years. “Whenever anyone applied, their applications were routinely rejected, saying that no liquor factories should be allowed, based on a policy decision made in 1999. In 2018, the government had also secretly attempted to allow breweries. The opposition foiled it. The Pinarayi Vijayan government is now trying to repeat the corrupt move that was foiled then, with arrogance,” he said.

He said there is also concern about how this unit will affect Palakkad, which is facing a severe water shortage. “Coca-Cola, which had drained groundwater, was evicted from Plachimada after a long struggle. Such a situation should not be created again,” Satheesan added.

Stating that the cabinet decision is against the government’s declared policy, the Opposition leader alleged massive corruption behind this non-transparent decision.

KPCC President K Sudhakaran MP said that the cabinet decision to grant permission to the Madhya Pradesh-based Oasis Commercial Private Limited to set up a brewery plant in Kanchikode, Palakkad, smacks of corruption and that this decision should be withdrawn immediately.

Sudhakaran demanded that the Chief Minister should explain the underlying circumstances that led to the government’s decision to grant permission to Oasis Commercial Private Limited to set up a brewery plant at Kanchikode in Palakkad.

Stating that permission was granted to set up a distillery in drought-prone Palakkad, which will drain crores of litres of groundwater, without conducting an environmental study, Sudhakaran said that he was not surprised by the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet’s decision, which includes a minister who justified drug use and criticised excise actions.