THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to denotify state highway stretches passing through corporations and municipalities, paving the way for the opening of over 400 liquor outlets including bars and beer/wine parlours in urban areas. The roads will be denotified using relevant provisions of the Highway Protection Act 1999. Once the roads are denotified, they will come under the local body concerned.
While government-speak is that the step will ensure better management of the roads in the municipal and corporation areas, it effectively allows the government to bypass the Supreme Court order banning liquor outlets along state highways.While exact numbers are unavailable, nearly 300 beer and wine parlours, 21 outlets of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) and 75 toddy parlours will be in a position to be opened.With the new government policy allowing three-star hotels also to have bars, the number of bars in the state will go up. Nearly a hundred hotels in urban areas have obtained ratings of three-star or above following the introduction of the new liquor policy.
Earlier, many local bodies - including CPM-governed panchayats - had opposed attempts by BEVCO to relocate shops from the sides of highways to their localities.To forestall such objections in future, the government had amended the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and the Kerala Municipality Act, repealing the clause that prior permission of civic bodies was required for opening liquor outlets. The Assembly passed an amendment bill in this regard on Tuesday.
‘Liquor sale ban along highways not applicable to municipal areas’
T’Puram:The Supreme Court has made it clear the ban on the sale of liquor within 500 metres of state and national highways does not apply to licensed liquor outlets within municipal areas. A bench comprising Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justices D Y Chandrachud and Nageswara Rao made the clarification. In the order, the SC said, “The purpose of the directions in the order dated 15 December 2016 is to deal with the sale of liquor along and in proximity of highways properly understood, which provide connectivity between cities, towns and villages. The order does not prohibit licensed establishments within municipal areas. This clarification shall govern other municipal areas as well.” Though the order was given on July 11, 2017, it was published on the website only on Wednesday.