THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged on Wednesday that Sree Chakra Distillery was given permission by overruling Excise Department officers. Addressing the media here, he alleged that the file in this regard was kept in the Excise minister’s office for more than seven months. The minister and his office waited to clear the file only for getting the ‘deal’ done, he said.
Chennithala said that the file, which was signed by the then additional chief secretary (Excise) on December 8, 2017, supporting the file notification of the deputy secretary (Excise), which was signed on December 5, 2017, argued against giving the licence. This file was in the minister’s office from 8 December, 2017, till June 6. The Chief Minister had given sanction to this file on 7 July after the Excise minister overruled the file noting by the deputy secretary and additional chief secretary on June 14. Chennithala alleged that the file was kept waiting to fix the ‘deal’, and when the ‘deal’ was fixed, it was signed.
Chennithala asked the Excise Minister whether the allegation was true, and if so, he must quit immediately. This is the mother of all corruptions the state has seen and the CM is the first accused in the case, he alleged.
There is no locus standi in the CM saying the approval was in principle and preliminary approval. There is no in-principle or preliminary approval... there is only one approval, said Chennithala. Permission is given by the government, while the sanction for distilleries and breweries is given by the Excise commissioner. Once permission is given, then sanction is automatic, he said.
According to Chennithala, who recently visited Elappully panchayat in Palakkad - where the sanction for a brewery was given - there was huge depletion of water level. The water used for drinking in this area is dark and the people of Elappully will not allow the distillery there, he said.
A large number of women and children had lined up there in protest against the brewery, said Chennithala.
He claimed that Sree Chakra Distillery hasn’t even prepared a sketch for the project and Kinfra violated all norms in allocating land to Power Infratech.