Daijiworld Media Network - Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 9: Keralam Excise Minister M Liju on Monday said the state government would not renew bar licences of hotels whose applications for star classification had been rejected by the Union Tourism Ministry.
The government would also maintain the same position before the Kerala High Court in cases pending before it, the minister said while responding to questions from reporters about bar licences being renewed for certain hotels whose star-classification applications were still under consideration by the Union Ministry.
Liju explained that star classification granted by the Union Tourism Ministry was mandatory for the renewal of bar licences. However, delays in processing applications since the Covid-19 pandemic had forced the state government to renew licences with the approval of the state Tourism Department.
The minister said he had instructed 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 state government had not yet received complete details of the hotels whose applications had been rejected. The Tax Secretary had informed him that the necessary information was still awaited from the Union Tourism Ministry.
After examining the affidavit filed by the government before the High Court, the minister said he understood that the state would present the same position 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 also recalled that the previous government had maintained that hotels should not be forced to shut down merely because the Union Tourism Ministry was unable to process their applications within the stipulated time due to its workload.
He said the Union Tourism Ministry had also informed the state government about difficulties in completing star-classification procedures on time.
On the transfer of Excise Commissioner Seeram Sambasiva Rao, Liju said administrative changes were not unusual in Keralam.