CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday ordered the closure of 717 Tasmac retail liquor shops located within 500 metres of educational institutions, places of worship and bus depots across Tamil Nadu. As part of the first phase, 50 liquor shops in Chennai, Tiruchy, Madurai, Salem and Coimbatore regions were closed on Tuesday.
The move comes days after the state government announced 200 units of free electricity once every two months for domestic consumers with power consumption of up to 500 units.
According to the Government Order (GO) dated May 12, 2026, accessed by TNIE, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) currently operates 4,765 retail liquor outlets across the state.
Of the 717 outlets identified for closure, 276 shops are located near places of worship, 186 near educational institutions and 255 near bus depots. The GO said the identified outlets would be shut within a couple of weeks in the interest of public welfare.
The decision is being seen as a major policy move of the party which had strongly criticised previous regimes during the election campaign for allegedly promoting liquor sales at the cost of public health and social harmony.
Speaking to TNIE, a Tasmac official said, “The government has also instructed authorities to ensure that no alternative liquor outlets are opened in the restricted zones. With the closure of 717 outlets, the number of functioning liquor shops across the state will come down to 4,048.”
The move is expected to lead to a revenue loss of Rs 7.27 crore per month to Tasmac with the shutting down of the 466 bars operating in these outlets. In addition, these shops generate an average revenue of Rs 23 crore to Rs 25 crore per day.