In September 2025, residents of Elappully panchayat in Kerala's Palakkad district blocked the attempts of Oasis Commercial Private Ltd to clear the land for a proposed brewery.
The residents, including Elappully panchayat president Revathi Babu, have been vocal in their opposition to the brewery project ever since January 2025 when the news of state government's permission to the Madhya Pradesh-based company to set up a liquor plant surfaced.
Oasis Commercial Private Limited plans to build a 600-crore ethanol and alcohol manufacturing plant on 24 acres plot in Mannukkad, the sixth ward of Elappully panchayat. The project is planned in four phases: a foreign liquor bottling unit as the first phase, ethanol/ENA production as the second, malt spirit/brandy/winery plant as the third, and a brewery as the fourth phase. The plant will operate 330 days a year, using various agricultural crops as raw materials. The company's application to open the brewery was cleared by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) under the state’s liquor policy promoting ethanol production.
Villagers, a majority of whom are farmers, have been up in arms against the project because the region has been struggling with water scarcity. “The lack of water has forced people to abandon around 26 acres of land, leaving it uncultivated,” the Elappully panchayat president told The Federal. Given that the plant’s estimated daily water demand is about four million litres, villagers see this as an additional threat to deplete groundwater in the drought-prone Chittoor block. Furthermore, it will worsen the availability of water to nearly 11,595 households that depend on agriculture, particularly paddy cultivation and small-scale farming, and groundwater as their drinking water sources.
Previously, there were allegations that the liquor company had purchased land in Elappully through intermediaries starting December 2022 and without revealing the purpose of acquisition. Revathi Babu told LCW, "I came to know through media reports that a liquor manufacturing company was coming to Mannukkad, Ward 6 of Elappully Panchayat. When I asked the farmers in the area, they said that they did not know that the land was purchased for the company. Later, I was able to find out the land purchased by Oasis company. They bought the land by mentioning the name of the educational institution [Prayaga College]. When I asked the management of Prayaga College about this, they said that they had not made any such land transaction."
The company’s land consists of 17.9 acres of dry land and 5.9 acres of wetland, including 4 acres of land that is protected under the Paddy Field and Wetland Conservation Act. The acquired land also includes one acre owned by a Dalit family. The purchase also violates the Kerala Land Reforms Act, which limits individual landholdings to 12–15 acres. The State Land Board has recommended legal action under the Kerala Land Reforms Act for holding surplus land, while the Palakkad Revenue Divisional Officer has rejected the company’s request to convert wetland for industrial use, the company continues to defend its compliance claims in court.
In April 2025, a resident of Elappully, S Sreejith, filed a petition in Kerala High Court challenging the government order granting preliminary approval to Oasis Commercial Pvt Ltd for establishing a 500 KLPD distillery (multi-feed ethanol manufacturing unit). The hearings in the matter are ongoing
Meanwhile, the Elappully panchayat passed a resolution against the brewery. It has also decided to file a case in the Kerala High Court against the government decision to approve the project without consulting the local panchayat.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand to cancel the project
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Private
N/A
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Agricultural land, Water bodies
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
600
Type of investment:
Cost of Project
Year of Estimation
2025
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Environmental Law, Other, Land Reform Laws, Other, Other, Case Laws, Environmental Law
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
Yes
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Violation of environmental laws
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Kerala High Court
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Kerala Excise Department; Revenue Department (RDO, Palakkad); Kerala Water Authority; Industries & Commerce Department
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Yes
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
