The state government has given a nod for Oasis Commercial Private Limited to establish Rs 600 crores worth of grain-based distillation and brewery units at Kanchikode in Palakkad. The opposition has alleged graft in the decision of the state cabinet to proceed with the project.
An order issued by A Jayathilak, Additional Chief Secretary, Taxes department, notes that the government has decided inthe 2023-24 liquor policy that it will encourage the production of Extra neutral alcohol (ENA) required for making liquor in the state itself and that sanction will be given to distilleries and new units which come up with the plan.
In February 2024, the Excise Commissioner recommended giving sanctions for the company to begin an ethanol plant, multi-feed distillation unit, Indian-made foreign liquor bottling unit, brewery, malt spirit plant, and brandy/winery plant at Kanchikode. The project will be implemented in four phases. In the first phase, three automatic and three semi-automatic lines with 8 lakh blending capacity and 16 lakh ENA storage capacity will be established. The second phase will include the installation of an ethanol/ENA production unit. In the third phase, a malt spirit/ brandy/winery plant will be set up. Brewery will come up in the fourth phase.
As per the proposal, the firm plans to begin a plant which will function for 330 days a year and will use rice, corn, vegetable waste, tapioca starch, wheat and sweet potato as raw materials. The Excise Commissioner reported that the raw materials required for the project are included among agricultural crops being grown in Kerala, and it will boost the farming sector. Besides, the Kerala water authority has already given a nod for providing the water required for the project.
This kind of project is the first of its kind in Southern India, and only Oasis Commercial Private Limited was included in the tender list issued by the oil companies under the union government for the production of ethanol. The company was short-listed for Kerala, considering the company’s experience in running similar projects in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. If the project is allowed in Palakkad, it will generate employment opportunities and boost Kerala’s financial prospects, as the Excice Commissioner reported.
The government has given sanction for the project based on the recommendation of the Excise Commissioner and on the condition that only broken rice shall be used as raw material for production.