The bad reputation that the trend of bottoms up is the highest in Kerala among the Indian States is a ‘myth’ and not based on facts, according to excise figures.
Excise Minister M.B. Rajesh contradicted the popular notion that Keralites are heavy drinkers by placing the statistics in the Assembly during a discussion on the Abkari (Amendment) Bill, 2023 on Tuesday, which was later passed by the House.
As per a study by the Central government on the magnitude of substance use in India, Arunachal Pradesh is ranked top in the highest liquor consumption index, followed by Chhattisgarh, Tripura and Punjab. While a national average of 14.6% of the population in the country consumes liquor, it is 12.4% in Kerala, said Mr. Rajesh. It is 35.6% in the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and 34.7% in Tripura, he added.
Drug abuse
In the case of drug abuse, the national average is 1.2% (i.e. 1.2% of the Indian population uses drugs), while it is 0.1% in Kerala. Another “campaign” is that the Kerala economy is highly dependent on liquor sales. But the fact is that the excise duty on liquor sales contributes only 0.3% of the gross State domestic product (GSDP) of Kerala, while it is 2.63% in Uttar Pradesh. Kerala is ranked 23rd in this index, said the Minister.
Liquor sale trends of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) also underscore the relatively decreasing sales in the past 10 years. Bevco sold 244.33 lakh cases of liquor in the 2011-12 financial year, while the sale of liquor was 224.3 lakh cases in the just-concluded fiscal (2022-23), a drop of 8.1% in sales.
Similarly, Kerala has a total of 309 liquor outlets, while the number is 5,329 in Tamil Nadu and 3,980 in Karnataka. In Kerala, one outlet is meant for 1 lakh people, while Tamil Nadu has one outlet for 13,000 people and Karnataka has one outlet for 17,000 people, said Mr. Rajesh. All these data clearly prove that ‘Kerala’s love for liquor’ image is not based on facts and is misleading, he added.
However, despite the dissent note by Opposition members on decriminalising some of the Sections in the Excise Act, the Assembly passed the Abkari (Amendment) Bill, 2023. The State has proposed to decriminalise Sections 55H and 55I in the Act by only increasing the penalty for offences.
These two Sections ensure an imprisonment term of six months, and a fine of ₹25,000 and ₹10,000, respectively, for unlawful advertisement promoting liquor or intoxicating drugs or exhibiting pictures such as scenes in cinema without statutory warning. Now, the fine is doubled for Section 55H and five times for Section 55I, but these have been decriminalised by bringing them under the compoundable offences list.
