Where are the 717 closed shops? Tasmac won’t say

CHENNAI: Providing copies of reports submitted by district officials on the implementation of the order to close 717 liquor outlets after the TVK-led government came to power would affect its day-to-day functioning, claimed the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac).

In response to a query under RTI, the State-run corporation also asked the applicant to approach its 38 district offices for details on the liquor shops that were closed.

The response came to an RTI application filed by a Coimbatore-based petitioner, Yuvaraj Ramalingam, who sought records relating to the government's decision that came into effect following an order passed in May 2026.

In its reply, Tasmac said all 717 identified shops had been closed. However, it refused to furnish the information on the district-wise list of the shops, along with shop numbers, addresses, and reasons and dates of closure, and instead gave him the addresses of all district offices and told him to approach the respective district managers.

The same response was given when he sought the date on which each of the 717 shops was closed, details of shops that had been relocated, shifted, or reopened elsewhere, and the district-wise list of new Tasmac retail outlets opened after May 12.

"The head office asked me to approach all 38 district managers separately. Why should a citizen be made to run from one district office to another for information? Is the administration so inefficient that even the head office does not have this data, or is the information being withheld," he questioned.

He added that shop numbers alone were of little use as there was no publicly accessible database through which citizens could identify a shop's location.

"Without the addresses, the public cannot independently verify whether the identified shops were actually closed or whether alternative outlets have been opened nearby.

The minister had put out shop numbers. What's stopping the HQ to give addresses? If the government has nothing to hide, why not disclose the complete list," he asked.

He had also sought copies of the district-wise compliance reports submitted by Tasmac district managers regarding the closure. While rejecting the request, it cited the administrative burden involved in furnishing them instead of making clear if the compliance reports were unavailable or did not exist.

The corporation invoked Section 7 (9) of the RTI Act to decline to provide the records, stating that furnishing the information would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority and affect its day-to-day functioning.