Oasis Commercial Pvt Ltd has approached the Kerala High Court seeking police protection to start preliminary work on its sanctioned brewery in Elappully panchayat, Kanjikode, Palakkad district. The company alleges people affiliated with political parties obstructed staff from clearing the property and conducting a digital survey for rainwater-harvesting lakes.

The petition says local residents, including Elappully panchayat ward members, oppose the project over concerns that groundwater extraction would harm farmers. Oasis says it will not extract groundwater and will rely entirely on harvested rainwater. The ₹600-crore project is expected to provide direct employment to 600 people and indirect employment to about 1,000.

Oasis Commercial Private Ltd received state approval for ₹600-crore grain-based distillation and brewery units in Palakkad. The company sought Kerala Water Authority (KWA) consent on June 16, 2023, to meet water-availability prequalification for an Oil Marketing Companies ethanol-plant tender issued May 15, 2023, with a July 14 deadline. The application and same-day consent did not specify water quantity.

Oasis says the plant will use harvested rainwater from artificial lakes on about 5.5 acres, with ₹12 crore allocated for rainwater harvesting. It said KWA water might be needed during construction or to supplement supplies in unforeseen circumstances, and that it would not extract groundwater.

In September 2025, Elappully panchayat president Revathy Babu told KSIDC that KWA’s affidavit indicated only possible water availability after completion of the KINFRA water-supply scheme; actual feasibility could be determined only then. The panchayat passed a resolution that month to take legal action against the government for approving the project without consulting it. The government pleader declined to advise the panchayat, citing his duty to protect the government’s interests. Babu said the panchayat would take measures to stall the project.

Kerala’s government will move ahead with construction of a brewery in Elappully, Palakkad, following a decision at a Left Democratic Front meeting on July 10, 2025. The decision was taken despite opposition from the CPI and RJD. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said concerns about drinking water need not cause worry and that the government would resolve other issues. CPM State Secretary M. V. Govindan also said there was no basis for concern about drinking water. CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam objected to choosing Elappully and asked whether another location could be considered.

KPCC vice president V.T. Balram accused the Kerala government of corruption for permitting a brewery in Elappully, Palakkad district. Speaking at the second day of a protest on March 23, 2025, he said the State Excise department had ignored Palakkad farmers’ concerns and protests, and warned the government not to forget the Plachimada agitation. He said approving a brewery in Elappully, a rain-shadow area, showed the government’s attitude towards the district’s farmers.

Karshaka Congress State president Majush Mathew began a 100-hour satyagraha at Anchuvilakku junction on Saturday, March 22. Kallikkattu Rajendran presided over the function. KPCC general secretary P.M. Niyas, DCC vice president Sumesh Achuthan and Karshaka Congress district president B. Iqbal also spoke.

The LDF meeting approved the brewery planned at Elappully in Palakkad. On Wednesday, it also resolved to ensure the project would not affect agriculture.