Antony's liquor ban proves a mega boon for politicians, police and excise officials

The arrack ban imposed in Kerala since April 1996 is proving to be a virtual gold mine for politicians and enforcement officials.

Records seized during raids in Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur districts in the last six months reveal that politicians, police and excise officials have been burgeoning their pockets by allowing liquor contractors a free run.

Raids in Kottayam unearthed an illegal distillery churning out arrack and Indian Made Foreign Liquor. The Pathanamthitta raids yielded a large quantity of spirit used for manufacturing arrack, and toddy mixed with arrack. From Thrissur, huge quantities of toddy and ingredients used for making synthetic toddy was recovered.

Barring the IMFL, the other illicit liquors were being traded through toddy shops. The law prohibiting raids in toddy shops came handy to the contractors who offered unearthly rates for them this year. A toddy shop range which was auctioned for $ 14,000 last year fetched $ 4 million this time.

The registers and computer floppies maintained by contractors in Pathanamthitta and Thrissur districts brought the politician-police-contractor nexus to light. The registers seized from a Pathanamthitta contractor revealed that excise officials -- from the assistant excise commissioner to drivers -- were receiving pay offs to the tune of Rs 200,000 every month.

Records from Thrissur revealed that an assistant excise commissioner was receiving Rs 14,000, an excise inspector Rs 7,500, a preventive officer Rs 4,000, an assistant excise inspector Rs 2,700 and an excise special squad circle inspector Rs 3,500, monthly.

Further, the documents showed these officials were also getting three 'bonuses' a year and 'special allowances' for family functions like marriages!

Similar payments were recorded to police officers and political leaders of different parties including the ruling Left Democratic Front, led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist.

The veracity of the records were corroborated in subsequent raids conducted at the beneficiaries's homes which revealed that most of the enforcement officials had amassed wealth far beyond their means.

The practice of recording payments by the contractors was started recently at the behest of the State Contractors Association to help deal with cases of official harassment.

Meanwhile, the state government, though it had been quick in ordering the raids, is shying away from probing the complexity of the matter. Thus, big liquor contractors as well as politicians involved continue to brew money outside. Worse, certain senior leaders have even tried to justify the pay offs their colleagues were receiving.

State Congress president Vyalar Ravi, though he claimed that the politician-contractor nexus is a 'serious matter' which should be pursued 'vigorously', maintained there is nothing wrong in any party collecting money from abkari (liquor) contractors.

"All established parties take hefty amounts from contractors to run the party. I don't find any harm in it. No political party in the state has the moral right to question it. If anybody questions, I'll call him a hypocrite," he said.

Opposition leader A K Antony, who enforced the arrack ban when he was chief minister, said what the raids revealed is only the tip of the iceberg. The liquor lobby, he added, had spread its wings throughout the state.

In Kerala politics, liquor contractors are the major source of funds as there are no large industrial houses to donate hefty amounts. The arrack ban and the subsequent hike in the IMFL duty have provided ample opportunities for contractors to make money.

Interestingly, the public at large appears to be unimpressed by the ongoing raids in different parts. For them, this is another eye-washing tactic of the government.