Jayalalithaa shuts 500 liquor shops -Governance Now

Jayalalithaa shuts 500 liquor shops

Liquor outlets in Tamil Nadu will now remain from noon to 10 pm

Shivani Chaturvedi | May 23, 2016 | Chennai

#Jayalalithaa #liquor outlets shut #prohibition #alcohol #election promise

J Jayalalithaa began her second term as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu on Monday by announcing closure of 500 Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) liquor shops.

The chief minister also ordered that liquor outlets can be open only from 12 pm to 10 pm.

As Jayalalithaa moved towards implementing her election manifesto, political experts spoke of the challenges she may face.

Political analyst and medical practitioner and Dr Sumanth Raman says, “How is she going to make up the loss of revenue. Liquor sales brings in almost Rs 30,000 crore to the state.”

Introducing rehabilitation centres in the state will also be required, he adds.

Political commentator BR Haran concurs. “At the end of the previous tenure, the government had liability of Rs. 4 lakh crores. The state needs revenue. Without having strong alternative as the source of revenue for the state, she might face a challenge,” he says.

Professor S Janakarajan, an economist at Madras Institute of Development Studies, feels, “It is going to take a couple years to bring prohibition in the state. She needs to do a lot of ground work to bring in prohibition as there might be hooch tragedies. In this state, people have been drinking since 1967. It will just add burden to the state.”

“Also, the state’s loss of revenue has to be looked into when prohibition is introduced. Jayalalithaa needs to take a bold decision to levy some new taxes, such as to start with tax on diesel car vehicles,” he adds.

Comments

Other News

Tier-2 cities lead India’s digital credit push

Digital payments have become a reflex for urban India, but the confidence earned in paying has not yet carried over to borrowing. That is the central finding of `How Urban India Pays Report 2026`, released by Pahlé India Foundation in collaboration with Amazon Pay. Based on a survey of 5,149 consu

India calls for doubling bilateral trade with UK by 2030

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has called upon businesses in India and the United Kingdom to translate the opportunities created by the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) into expanded trade, investment, partnerships and job creation. Addressing the Bu

Gandhian movement after Gandhi failed: Ram Guha

The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,