Palakkad: The Palakkad Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) has rejected Oasis Commercial (Private) Limited's application to convert four acres of farmland into commercial land for its liquor factory in Elappully village. The decision comes against the backdrop of strong opposition from the Communist Party of India (CPI), which controls the Revenue Department.

However, the Delhi-based Oasis has made its intent clear by preemptively moving the court, requesting that no petition from political parties be allowed to halt the project without first hearing its side.

Oasis plans to set up an ethanol plant, multifeed distillation unit, Indian-made foreign liquor bottling unit, malt and brandy production unit, winery, and brewery in four phases at Elappully. However, the Congress-led Opposition, the BJP, and several constituent parties of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) are opposing the project, arguing that Elappully lacks sufficient groundwater and rainfall to sustain a liquor plant. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the government it is heading are going out on a limb to defend the project.

An official at the Palakkad Revenue Divisional Office told Onmanorama that Oasis moved an application (form 5) to remove four acres in its possession from the data bank. The data bank is an official record of all paddy fields and wetlands as defined in the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008.  

"We checked the data bank status with satellite pictures from the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre, and found that the particular land for which the company sought reclassification was farmland till 2008 when the Act came into being," said the official. "So we rejected the application," he said.

The official said the application was first rejected in December, and a revised order was issued on December 24, 2025, correcting an error in the original decision. The RDO is the final authority to approve or reject applications for land reclassification under the Wetland Act.

The company owns around 22 acres of land in the village but requires only 15 acres for the project. Reports suggest that Oasis's master plan excludes the four-acre farmland from construction.

Meanwhile, on February 5, the company filed caveats before the munsif court, the lowest civil court in the district, and the Subordinate Court, the higher civil court in the district, requesting that no injunction be granted without hearing its side.

The precautionary legal notice, filed by Oasis Commercial's Vice-President (Operations) A Gopi Krishnan, said he has learned that the BJP, the Congress, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) were planning to legally challenge the proposed factory in Elappully village. "Let nothing be done in any suit praying, among other things, for an order of temporary injunction restraining the company from starting and conducting the business at the address shown below without notice to the company," said the caveat before the two courts. Calls made to Gopi Krishnan, and directors of the company went unanswered.

On January 27, the CPI's State Executive Council, which met in Alappuzha, decided to oppose the project. The decision was taken based on the inputs given by the party's Palakkad district council and the district executive council.

According to the party sources, the CPI ministers in the cabinet gave their approval to the liquor project after discussing with the party's state secretary Binoy Viswam and the matter was not discussed in the party.

The decision taken by the CPI's Executive Council has to be ratified by the party's state council. When contacted, Viswam said there is no further development on the decision.