The Opposition boycott of the Assembly proceedings on Tuesday provided an easy passage for two key Bills that take away the power of panchayats and municipalities to permit the establishment of liquor shops in their jurisdiction.
In the absence of the UDF members, the House rushed through the listed discussion on the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and the Kerala Municipality (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to replace the Ordinances. Both the Bills were passed unanimously without debate and the Speaker adjourned the House before noon.
Minister for Law A.K. Balan said the amendments were introduced to remove a major hurdle to the implementation of a uniform abkari policy and dismantle the system of dual accountability caused by the overlapping functions of the Excise Department and local bodies.
Dissenting voices
During the discussion on the Bills in the subject committee, four UDF members, including former Local Self-Government Minister Manhalamkuzhy Ali, had expressed dissent, accusing the government of usurping the power of local bodies. They said the amendment would undermine the decentralisation of power and prove counterproductive to the government policy of promoting abstinence. The Opposition members feared that the new legislation would facilitate the easy availability of liquor and lead to a spurt in crime.
The Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and Kerala Municipality Act of 1994 empowered the village panchayat and municipality to grant prior permission for the establishment of a liquor shop in their jurisdiction. The local bodies also had the power to enforce the distance limit prescribed for establishing liquor shops near educational institutions or places of worship and order the relocation of liquor outlets posing public inconvenience or nuisance.
Mr. Balan said the powers enjoyed by local bodies to decide on the establishment of liquor shops constituted an infringement on the abkari laws. Asserting that the amendment would give teeth to the government in its drive against liquor smuggling, he stressed the need for timely revision of the Abkari Act that dates back to the days of British rule in India.
The Minister said 1,659 liquor outlets in Kerala, including toddy shops and IMFL shops, had downed shutters since the LDF came to power.
PSC Bill
The Kerala Public Service Commission (Additional Functions) Bill, 2017 which allows the PSC to carry out recruitments to the Kerala Administrative Tribunal was also passed unanimously.
Rounding up the discussion on the Bill, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Government would take steps to equip the PSC to carry out more recruitments.
