Tamil Nadu will allow consumers to return empty liquor bottles bought at any Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) outlet to any other outlet in the state within 20 days, minister for prohibition and excise K Vignesh said in Coimbatore on Monday. The government is procuring 40,048 specialised machines to implement the system.
The proposed change is part of a wider administrative response to irregularities at Tasmac outlets. Vignesh said the government would consider privatising Tasmac’s administration if such irregularities continued, while warning employees against strikes and unauthorised closure of shops.
According to the minister, Tasmac employees had gone on strike five times in the past six months. Four staff members were suspended for allegedly forcing shop closures, while show-cause notices were issued to 960 employees. Vignesh urged members of the public to report irregularities by providing specific shop numbers.
The minister described the collection and accounting of empty liquor bottles as one of the biggest scams in Tamil Nadu and attributed the corporation’s current problems to administrative lapses under previous governments. He said that although a report had been submitted to the court claiming that empty bottles were being handled properly, the corresponding revenue had not been accounted for.
Vignesh also alleged that money collected during the tenure of former minister V Senthilbalaji had reached his residence. The allegation was made during the minister’s interaction with reporters at Kurichi in Coimbatore. The supplied report does not include a response from Senthilbalaji or details of any investigation or court finding on the allegation.
The proposed bottle-return system would change the current outlet-level handling process by allowing consumers to take empty bottles back to any Tasmac shop in Tamil Nadu, rather than restricting returns to the outlet where the purchase was made. The government’s planned procurement of 40,048 machines is intended to support collection and accounting under the new arrangement.
The minister said the government was also examining the feasibility of operating Tasmac outlets from premises measuring between 500 and 1,000 square feet. Steps would be taken to prevent the unauthorised sub-leasing of private bars, while additional staff would be deployed during peak hours and more personnel recruited.
The announcements place Tasmac’s retail operations, employee conduct, bottle accounting and private-bar oversight within a single administrative reform agenda. The immediate milestones are the proposed rollout of the statewide bottle-return facility within 20 days and the procurement and deployment of the specialised machines.
