Kerala high court moved against state govt nod for distillery plan in Palakkad district

Kochi: A petition has been filed in HC challenging the govt order granting preliminary approval to Oasis Commercial Pvt Ltd for establishing a 500 KLPD distillery (multi-feed ethanol manufacturing unit) at Elappully grama panchayat in Palakkad district.

The petition, filed by S Sreejith of Elappully, also seeks a directive to the state govt to consider the representation submitted by him on March 20, raising certain potential grievances, and to allow a personal hearing on the same forthwith. The bench of Justices Amit Rawal and P M Manoj on Wednesday sought instruction from the state in the petition and adjourned the matter for further hearing.

Oasis Group claims it plans to set up a world-class distillery involving an investment of Rs 600 to Rs 650 crore. According to the company, the project will be implemented in phases, depending on the availability of necessary resources. They claim the project will generate 500-600 direct jobs and over 1,000 through ancillary units while also providing a boost to farmers and agriculture.

Meanwhile, the petitioner alleged that permission was granted to the company to receive a daily supply of 2.7 million litres of potable water even before the preliminary approval was issued. He contended that in Elappully village, where acute water scarcity and extreme heat conditions prevail, the allocation of such a large quantity of water to a single entity could potentially lead to excessive groundwater exploitation, similar to the widely debated Plachimada plant issue. He further claimed that for the daily production of 3 lakh litres of spirit, a total of 2.7 million litres of potable water would be required. However, if adequate treatment plants are not in place to manage the disposal of spent wash generated during production, it could result in severe environmental consequences.