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Bar licences will not be renewed for hotels denied star classification: Excise Minister
Bar licences will not be renewed for hotels denied star classification: Excise Minister
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Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam Excise Minister M Liju on Monday said bar licences would not be renewed for hotels whose applications for star classification had been rejected by the Union Tourism Ministry.
The state government would also take the same stand before the Kerala High Court in cases pending before it, he said.
He was speaking to reporters amid queries over bar licences being issued to some hotels whose applications for star classification were still pending before the Union Ministry.
Explaining the issue, Liju said a star classification was mandatory for renewing bar licences and the classification was granted by the Union Tourism Ministry.
However, since the Covid-19 pandemic, there had been delays in processing applications for star classification, forcing the state government to renew bar licences with the approval of the state Tourism Department, he said.
The minister said he had directed officials to obtain a list of hotels whose applications for renewal of star classification had been rejected by the Union Tourism Ministry.
"Delay in processing an application cannot be attributed to the applicant. However, if the Union Tourism Ministry has rejected an application, it has to be viewed seriously," he said.
Liju said the government had not yet received complete details of the hotels whose applications were rejected.
The Tax Secretary had informed him that the required information was still awaited from the Union Tourism Ministry.
He said he had examined the affidavit filed by the government before the High Court and understood that the same position would be presented before the court.
"The government has no responsibility to renew bar licences for hotels whose star classification applications have been rejected. Once the details of such hotels are received, the government will take a decision," he said.
The minister said the previous government had taken the position that establishments should not be forced to shut down merely because the Union Tourism Ministry was unable to process their applications within a stipulated time due to its workload.
He said the Union Tourism Ministry had also informed the state government that it was facing difficulties in completing star classification procedures on time.
Regarding the transfer of Excise Commissioner Seeram Sambasiva Rao, Liju said such administrative changes were not new in Keralam.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
