By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government is yet to take a final decision on scrapping the ‘dry day’ (when the liquor sale is banned) on the first day of every month, Excise Minister T P Ramakrishnan informed the assembly here on Wednesday. He was replying to a question raised by K S Sabarinadhan, MLA. He said no final decision has been taken about starting breweries and distilleries in the state as well.“A committee was constituted earlier to study both the suggestions and it has submitted a report. However, the government has not taken any decision so far,” Ramakrishnan said. Earlier, there were reports that a final decision on making liquor available on the first day of every month would be taken in February when the state government would announce its new liquor policy. In view of demands from various quarters including the tourism sector, the state government had earlier considered the possibility of doing away with the dry day. ‘No effects of reduced bar-school distance’ In reply to MLA M Vincent’s question, Ramakrishnan said the state government’s decision to reduce the minimum distance limit between bars in five-star/four-star hotels and educational institutions/places of worship from 200m to 50m has not caused any negative effects on schools or worship places. The state government reduced the distance from 200m to 50m in 2017 as part of its revised liquor policy. Earlier, the UDF government had increased the minimum distance between bars and schools/ places of worship from 50m to 200m. When LDF government came to power and announced a new liquor policy, the government retained the stipulation regarding the distance to be maintained between two-/three-star hotels/Bevco outlets and schools/religious institutions as 200m. “The government’s aim is to reduce the consumption of alcohol and not ban it. As per the statistics, 220.58 lakh cases of liquor were sold in 2014-15 However, only 216.34 lakh cases of liquor were sold in 2018-19,” Ramakrishnan told the assembly. Cyber cell to curb online drug sales A hi-tech cyber cell will be constituted in the excise department to prevent online drug sales. The government will take action based on the recommendation of Excise Commissioner S Ananthakrishnan, Ramakrishnan said. He also said unique detection kits, which are disposable, will be used to identify persons who use drugs. Cut in number of welfare fund boards T’Puram: The number of State Welfare Fund Board functioning in the state will be reduced to 11 from the existing 16 to bring down the administrative cost, Labour Minister T P Ramakrishnan informed assembly. “At present, there is excess number of welfare fund boards. If Akshaya Centre employees are willing, we will include them in the beneficiary list of unorganised sector in the welfare fund board,” he said. JICA to be silver lining for Silverline T’Puram: Replying to the remarks of P J Joseph, who pitched the idea of forcing the Centre to honour the PM’s promise of a dedicated high-speed rail corridor, Silverline, between Mumbai and Kanyakumari, chief minister told the assembly Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has showed its willingness to provide loan for the project and the government hopes to complete it in five years. Earlier, the opposition said the project was economically unfeasible Eco-Sensitive Zones to be announced soon T’Puram: The government will soon notify Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or buffer zones around wildlife protected areas in the state. Forest MInister K Raju said ESZs would be notified within 1km from the protected area without affecting human settlements. The notification will be announced after the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) approves the list notified by the state. He was responding to the submission raised by Kalpetta MLA C K Saseendran in the assembly on Wednesday. Zoning is considered as an environment conservation measure mandated by MoEFCC. It is to create some kind of shock absorbers to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around it. “Activities such as timber mills, mining and polluting industries that harm the environment, will not be allowed in ESZs. The area will be utilised for conservation efforts,” said Raju. Saseendran demanded that zoning should be done in a transparent manner in consultation with the local MLA. New Responders to combat forest fire T’Puram: Forest Minister K Raju informed the assembly on Wednesday that the government has purchased two fire responders for D25 lakh each to combat forest fires. He also said the forest department will rope in tribals if required to contain the forest fire as they are aware of vulnerable areas inside the forest. The minister said the government has introduced a system to send alerts on fires to forest officers through SMS. The system is overseen by Dehradun-based Forest Survey of India. “In case of any fire, a satellite alert will be received by the control room of Forest Survey of India, following which the alert will be forwarded to forest officers in respective areas”, he said. De-addiction centres at all taluk HQs T’Puram: The state government will soon set up de-addiction centres at all taluk headquarters, Excise Minister T P Ramakrishnan informed assembly here on Wednesday. At present, all districts have one such centre each. They currently have 10 beds, which will be doubled once new centres are opened. “The centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode have counselling services. The government will increase the number of beds at the existing centres and the new ones as part of the efforts to curb drug addiction,” he said. The centres will have general physicians, psychiatrists and psychologists to help addicts kick the habit. Oppn walks out over mounting bills T’Puram: The opposition MLAs staged a walkout in the assembly to protest the failure of the government in settling pending bills which threaten to paralyse local bodies. Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac had promised the funds would be sanctioned within a week after Kerala Congress leader KC Joseph served a notice for an adjournment motion to discuss the issue. Isaac had said most of the bills of the contractors who carried out work for local self-government institutions would be settled by February 10. Bills below Rs 5 lakh would be given priority. Of this, the bills generated before January 1 would be considered first. So far, the total bills below Rs 5 lakh has amounted to Rs 403 crore.

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