Cooperation and Excise Minister M. Liju on Friday said the Kerala government would formulate a new liquor policy beneficial to the State and society. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Liju said changes to the State’s liquor policy were on the cards.“There will certainly be changes in the liquor policy. This is a new UDF government— not the policy of the previous LDF government,” he said.The Minister said detailed discussions would begin after the State Budget, scheduled for June 19. “Discussions will take place within the UDF as well as with all stakeholders. The objective is to formulate a policy that is beneficial to Kerala and helps guide society forward,” he said.On anti-drug measures, Mr. Liju said the Excise department was implementing ‘Operation Thunder’ vigorously and recently registered several major cases involving seizures of hashish and other narcotic substances.He announced that a comprehensive anti-drug programme would be launched on June 26. “The Excise department at present functions on three pillars — enforcement, awareness, and de-addiction. We are now adding a fourth: rehabilitation,” he said.De-addiction centres functioning in all 14 districts would be expanded to 66 taluk hospitals, he said.Highlighting manpower shortages, Mr. Liju said the department had only around 4,000 personnel and faced significant limitations in infrastructure compared to the police force.Studies conducted after assuming office had revealed several deficiencies, including the absence of substance identification kits needed to immediately identify seized narcotic substances, he said.Proposals to procure such kits and strengthen infrastructure had already been submitted through the Budget process, he said.Mr. Liju pointed to delays in forensic testing, noting that reports from the State Chemical Examination Laboratory could take up to a year-and-a-half. To address this, the department had proposed establishing a dedicated excise chemical examination laboratory, he said.A comprehensive modernisation proposal for the Excise department had also been submitted to the government, the Minister said.On the cooperative sector, Mr. Liju said the government had introduced the Ashwas Scheme, under which attachment and auction proceedings initiated over unpaid cooperative loans would be suspended for three months while borrowers were offered a one-time settlement facility.The scheme was providing relief to many borrowers and helping cooperative institutions recover long-pending loans, he said. The government had two priorities in the cooperative sector — strengthening cooperative societies and ensuring depositors got their money back, the Minister said.“Revival and restructuring plans are being prepared, and a detailed package will be announced soon. Ensuring that depositors receive their deposits is a policy commitment of this government. A long-term, well-structured plan is being prepared to ensure depositors can recover their funds,” he said. Published - June 12, 2026 09:43 pm IST