Opposition Pattali Makkal Katchi welcomed the move and urged Stalin to implement prohibition in the state.
Published Jun 21, 2023 | 4:57 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 22, 2023 | 5:43 AM
A TASMAC outlet in Tamil Nadu. (Creative Commons)
State-run liquor retailer Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) on Wednesday, 21 June, said 500 retail shops selling alcoholic beverages would be closed down in Tamil Nadu from 22 June, implementing a Government Order (GO) issued earlier for their closure.
Minister V Senthil Balaji, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and hospitalised for a heart-related ailment, had made the announcement in the House in April this year while holding the Excise portfolio then.
Out of the 5,329 retail liquor outlets across the state (as on 31 March, 2023), 500 shops would be identified and closed down, he had told the state Assembly on 12 April.
The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) recalled the Assembly announcement made then “on the directions of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin” and said a Government Order (GO) was subsequently issued dated 20 April, 2023.
The GO pertained to identifying 500 retail liquor outlets and closing them, it said.
“In order to implement the GO, it has been directed to identify 500 retail outlets across the state and close them from 22 June, 2023 onwards.”
“Based on that, the said 500 retail outlets will not function from 22 June,” a TASMAC statement said.
TASMAC runs an alcoholic beverages retail chain in the state.
Opposition Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) welcomed the move and urged Stalin to implement prohibition in the state.
The PMK, a strong proponent of a dry state, called for the time-bound closure of the rest of the shops as well.
“Although delayed, this is welcome. The chief minister had promised implementation of prohibition in a phased manner and this (closure of 500 shops) should be the start for that journey,” PMK president and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Anbumani Ramadoss said in a tweet.
தமிழ்நாட்டில் 500 மதுக்கடைகள் நாளை முதல் மூடப்படவிருப்பது வரவேற்கத்தக்கது; மீதமுள்ள மதுக்கடைகளையும் மூட கால அட்டவணை வெளியிட வேண்டும்!
தமிழ்நாட்டில் மொத்தமுள்ள 5329 மதுக்கடைகளில் 500 கடைகள் நாளை முதல் மூடப்படும் என்று டாஸ்மாக் நிறுவனம் அறிவித்திருக்கிறது. இது தாமதமானது…
— Dr ANBUMANI RAMADOSS (@draramadoss) June 21, 2023
According to TASMAC sources, the shops were identified by the respective district managers.
The shops with low sales, clusters of shops, shops located near religious places and educational institutions, shops which have been objected to by the public for a long time, shops involved in court litigations for closure, and shops for which building owners consistently objected were chosen for closure.
In the Chennai region, which includes the Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts, 138 out of 905 shops are being closed.
In the Coimbatore region, which includes Erode, Tiruppur, Karur and the Nilgiris, 78 out of 933 shops will be closed.
In the Madurai region, which has a total of 1,345 shops in nine districts — Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Virudhunagar, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari — 125 liquor shops were being closed.
In the Salem region, out of 1,001 shops in seven districts, 59 shops will be closed.
In the Tiruchy region, which includes all the delta districts like Cuddalore and Villupuram, where recent hooch deaths happened, 100 shops were closed. A total of 1,145 liquor outlets were functioning in the region.
In Tiruvallur East, a total of 32 shops are being closed out of 217 operating shops. This is the highest shop count that is being closed in the district.
In the Arakkonam district, only two shops out of 87 liquor outlets are being closed.
The TASMAC authorities also said that a separate order would be issued for the redeployment of employees working in these shops which are to be closed.
It also said that while the shops were being closed, their stocks would have to be transferred back to the godowns.
A monitoring officer would be deployed to ensure that the stocks of IMFL and beer were transferred from the closed shops to a godown.
Other properties and materials, such as furniture, cash chest box, all records relating to the shops, any old billing machines, bottle coolers, PoS machines, and other fixed assets, were to be handed over to the concerned district manager. The materials would be reallocated to other shops on a need basis within seven days.
A TASMAC district manager told South First that it was instructed that while closing the shops, a certificate from the internal auditor should be obtained after the 100 percent physical verification of the shops that are to be closed.
“If there is any shortage or misappropriation found in a shop during its closure, necessary disciplinary action would be taken by the district manager, and the shortage amount — if any — would be collected immediately with a penalty and fine,” he said.
District collectors have been instructed to ensure hassle-free closure of shops, and an action-taken report has been sought from the TASMAC district managers
(With PTI inputs)
