Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay has ordered the closure of 717 state-run liquor shops within 500 metres of temples, school, and bus stands across the state.
The shops - operated by TASMAC, or the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation, are to be shut within two weeks. The order is the first by the superstar actor and leader of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which secured a dominant win in last month's Assembly election.
But Vijay and the TVK - which won 108 (107 after Vijay resigns from one of the two he won) of the state's 234 seats - were made to wait to form the government because they were 10 seats short of majority. That led to a week-long drama that ended with support from the Congress, two Left parties, and a smaller Tamil party, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, ensuring the numbers.
"With the welfare of the general public in mind, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C Joseph Vijay, has issued orders to close - within two weeks - 717 retail liquor shops situated within a 500-meter radius of places of worship, educational institutions, and bus stands."
TASMAC currently operates 4,765 liquor shops in the state, 276 are near places of worship, 186 are near educational institutions, and 255 are near bus stands," the government said.
The closure order echoes cross-party sentiment despite TASMAC liquor sales making up a large chunk of the state's revenue. In 2025, for example, total revenue was over Rs 48,000 crore.
And it is the first step in Vijay's promise for an 'addiction-free' Tamil Nadu.
ED's TASMAC claims
TASMAC shops were under the Enforcement Directorate's scanner in the build-up to the April election. Last year, it raided at premises across the state in connection with alleged money-laundering offences by the corporation and associated entities.
Pushback over the raids - the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was in power then - dragged the matter up to the Supreme Court. And in May last year the court took a dim view over the federal agency crossing jurisdictional lines.
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"What happens to the federal structure? Are you not taking away the state government's right to investigate?" a bench led by then-Chief Justice BR Gavai asked, "When you have a doubt ... 'is the state not investigating'... can you do it yourself?"
Rs 1,000 crore allegations
Back in March the agency claimed it found "multiple irregularities" in TASMAC operations.
The ED also said it found "unaccounted" cash worth Rs 1,000 crore. Specifically, it said it had found "incriminating" data related to corporate postings, and transport and bar licence tenders, as well as indent orders 'favouring' a few distilleries.
There was also "evidence", the ED said of fraudulent pricing, i.e., surcharges of Rs 10 to Rs 30 per bottle sold by TASMAC outlets imposed with the "involvement" of TASMAC officials. The raids were repeated days later.
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Ten premises were searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA, and the ED claimed to have found 'manipulated data' indicating cheating during award of tenders.
After this, then state Excise Minister S Muthusamy launched a counterattack, accusing the ED of harassing state officials. He accused it of a 'political vendetta' and said searches of TASMAC's offices had 'ulterior political motives'.
