Govt plans ID cards, alcohol quota for Tasmac customers
A Selvaraj
Chennai:
Finding itself in turbulent waters over anti-liquor protests, the state government is all set to take the wind out of the opposition sails this assembly session by proposing a series of regulations including quota-based sale of alcohol through Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) outlets.
Following a report submitted by the home department, the government may issue an order or introduce a bill in the coming assembly session to regulate liquor sale. An official source said a proposal was to make ID cards mandatory for purchase from Tasmac shops which would have a ceiling for every customer. Before that, the government is likely to announce on Independence Day the cutting down of the number of Tasmac shops by half, and closure of all bars attached to Tasmac outlets. Chief minister J Jayala lithaa is expected to announce the details on Saturday .
As per the police suggestion, buyers will be given a card, on which the purchase will be noted to ensure nobody buys more than the allotted quota. They have to show the card while buying liquor at any Tasmac shop. It is not yet clear if the quota will be fixed per sale or monthly or annually . The other proposal, which is likely to be announced on Saturday , is to bring down the number of Tasmac outlets from 6,250 to about 3,000. The police report, however, suggested that the number of elite Tasmac shops could be increased to make up for the revenue loss likely because of the restrictions.
The DGP and IG intelligence had recently submitted the report to the home secretary after compiling reports from across the state during the anti-liquor protests following the death of Sasi Perumal.
The police report was based on the inference that people were against the Tasmac shops and bars mostly because of the nuisance the drinkers were causing outside these places. Tasmac bars, which were also found to be dens of violence, should be closed down, the report said.
“We've proposed controlled liquor sales,“ said a senior police officer. “As for the revenue loss, the government could increase the elite shops to 500 or even 1,000.“ The elite shops, the police surmised, don't harbour troublemakers.
