Tasmac drowns in a cocktail of problems

Chennai: Tasmac has a problem: the govt that owns it cannot control it. The first set of announcements Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay made after taking office was to shut 717 liquor shops operating within 500m of temples and schools within two weeks. After 462 closures, bar owners protested that their livelihoods were at risk. So, the drive was stalled and has not resumed yet.The revised plan, according to Tasmac sources, is a quieter retreat. For the first phase of closures, district managers have been asked to draw up a fresh list targeting low-volume shops and standalone outlets without attached bars. Shops identified in prohibited zones will not be shut — they will be relocated to what Tasmac internally calls a “grey area,” just outside the 500m boundary, under new shop numbers. “It will not be a closure, but a relocation,” a source said.The closure drive is not an exception. Every initiative to streamline Tasmac meets with resistance from within and produces the same result: stalemate, and then status quo. Reforms proposed under the previous govt — including a push for digital transactions at outlets (UPI or card payments) — have collapsed. It’s a sharp reversal from when e-transactions accounted for nearly 50% of all sales in the city and surrounding districts. Changes that were proposed to improve transparency at retail counters have hit a wall.For instance, overcharging at counters is a routine phenomenon. Satish Galley, a Semmancheri resident, says each outlet functions at the supervisor’s whims and fancies. He pays Rs 20 above the maximum retail price (MRP) for every can of beer at his neighbourhood shop. Another customer Sudershan, from Maduravoyal said outlets continue operating beyond the official hours.When the govt moved to crack down on MRP violations, workers did not comply. Instead, they lobbied back. Shop employees submitted a formal representation to Prohibition and Excise Minister K Vignesh explaining why the extra Rs 10 was essential to cover what they called “miscellaneous expenses.” AITUC-affiliated Tasmac workers union general secretary D Dhanasekaran said the govt had announced a scrapping of MRP violations without understanding the on-ground problems. He explained: “The money shopkeepers collect from liquor buyers pays for everything — from electricity bills, rent, and outsourced labour costs, and Tasmac has not addressed these problems for years.”After that meeting, the tone and tenor of the prohibition and excise minister, K Vignesh changed. MRP violations could not be eradicated overnight, he said. There is a breakdown in the process of collecting empty liquor bottles as well. Unions demand that a third party be engaged to handle collection, citing the burden on shop staff. When management did not act, workers in Erode and Salem districts simply shut their outlets for roughly four days — the first such closures in Tasmac’s 23-year history. The strike led to a loss of revenue, yet no memo was issued. No disciplinary action followed.In Chennai, workers went one step further, deferring implementation of the collection scheme ahead of elections, and it is yet to be revived. Tasmac sources said talks on the matter are ongoing, with a plan for the collection agent to deploy his own staff, but nothing has been finalised. Tasmac MD K Nanthakumar was unavailable for comment, and minister Vignesh did not respond to calls.