Politics
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Vijay targets TASMAC leakages in first cabinet meeting
NDTV··8 Jun
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay ordered a crackdown on alleged unofficial collections within TASMAC at his first cabinet meeting on June 5. Officials told NDTV about Rs 102 crore may have been diverted monthly through embedded party fund practices. Vijay immediately directed dismantling cash collection systems across about 4,048 registered outlets statewide.
Prism
What It Means For You
- TASMAC is Tamil Nadu's sole legal liquor retailer. If Rs 102 crore leaked monthly, that is public money lost from roads, schools, and hospitals that serve you.
- The Rs 10 buy-back surcharge on empty bottles was passed directly to consumers at 4,048 outlets. Ending it is a direct price reduction at point of sale.
- 717 shop closures near schools and temples change daily commute routes and neighbourhood safety for lakhs of families in tier-2 and tier-3 towns.
What's Happening
- Government sources estimate Rs 1,600 crore siphoned over five years through embedded party fund practices inside TASMAC operations.
- The cabinet ordered a procurement-to-retail overhaul without privatising liquor sales, preserving the state monopoly while dismantling internal collection systems.
- Minister Vignesh denied plans to raise liquor prices to compensate for the Rs 8,000 crore annual revenue impact of the 717 closures.
How We Got Here
- TASMAC was created in 2003 to replace private liquor shops, but parallel cash collection networks emerged within years and survived three successive governments.
- Kerala's similar state monopoly BEVCO underwent a transparency overhaul in 2017 with digital billing. Leakage complaints dropped 40 percent within two years.
- Tamil Nadu earns roughly Rs 45,000 crore annually from liquor revenue, making it the single largest non-tax revenue source for the state.
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