The Tamil Nadu government has increased the prices of alcohol at Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) outlets across the state. The step was taken in Wednesday’s cabinet meeting. While the tipplers will have to disburse Rs 10 extra on a bottle of beer, Rs 12 on hot drinks has been increased.
The AIADMK in its 2016 poll manifesto has said that it will ban the consumption of alcohol. But the implementation will be done in a phased manner.
Tamil Nadu late chief minister, J Jayalalithaa, after being sworn in as the CM, had ordered shutting down 500 TASMAC outlets. Besides, she ordered drop in the working hours of remaining outlets by two hours.
The sale of liquor increased in the black market regardless of a drop in the number of hours. The consumers were more than willing to shell out extra money for liquor bottles.
After taking charge in February 2017, the current chief minister, Edapadi K Palaniswamy, ordered the closing of 500 more TASMACs.
Increasing prices could be seen as a step towards decreasing the number of alcohol consumers. The move can boost state revenue by more than Rs 2,000 crore per annum.
