Pay Rs 10 extra for liquor as bottle buyback scheme comes to Chennai outskirts

CHENNAI: Amid resistance from the staff, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) has extended the liquor bottle return scheme to a few more districts, including areas in Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur that fall under Greater Chennai.

Under the scheme, which was initiated based on the Madras High Court’s direction, customers will have to pay an additional Rs 10 per bottle. The amount will be reimbursed when they return the empty bottle.

The scheme has already been implemented in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, and Perambalur from last year. Later, it was extended to the Theni, Dharmapuri, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Kanniyakumari districts in May 2024.

A senior official from Tasmac said that the empty liquor bottle return scheme would be in place in Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts, which come under Greater Chennai. "The scheme was also implemented in Thanjavur, Madurai, and Sivaganga districts from September 1," he added.

The High Court directed the corporation to buy back the empty bottles to save the environment and prevent people from littering empty liquor bottles in public places, especially in tourist spots near forests.

However, since the implementation of the liquor bottle return scheme, the staff have raised several issues, including lack of space to store bottles and shortage of manpower to do the transactions during peak sales time.

Following this, Tasmac appointed senior officials in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, and Tiruchy to monitor the scheme.