Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Monday reiterated that his government would not go back on its new liquor policy of limiting bar licenses to only 5-star hotels as part of a move to implement total prohibition in the state in 10 years' time.
"I am not taking the revenue loss of about Rs 7,000 crore lightly. However, the loss to society and drawbacks due to liquor consumption is much more than the revenue earned by the state," Chandy said while inaugurating the Sree Narayana Guru Samadhi observance at Sivagiri here
As per the new policy, besides these 412 bars, notices have been issued to 312 other such establishments to close down by September 12.
From the next fiscal, liquor would be available only in around 16 five-star hotels operating in the state.
From Oct 2 this year, all Sundays will be dry days. Out of the 383 state-owned retail liquor shops, 10 percent will close down each year paving the way for Kerala to achieve complete prohibition by Oct 2, 2023.