Rs 17 crore earned through liquor bottle buyback scheme, Tasmac submits in Madras HC
Similarly, Rs 16.83 crore was earned by selling the liquor bottles collected from the vending shops through the buyback scheme, said the advocate
Tasmac (File)
CHENNAI: The liquor bottle buyback scheme unrolled at nine districts and seven hill stations has so far fetched Rs 16.83 crore, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) submitted before the Madras High Court.
The State-run corporation made the submission before a special bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice D Bhartha Chakravarthy, which was hearing a batch of cases related to protecting the environment and biodiversity, especially in ecologically fragile areas of the State.
Appearing on behalf of Tasmac, the special public prosecutor submitted that pursuant to the direction of the High Court, the buyback scheme was implemented in nine districts, including the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Perambalur, and Kanniyakumari, and seven hill stations in other districts.
By charging Rs 10 extra over and above the maximum retail price for each bottle, the corporation collected an additional Rs 15.94 crore until December 31. The extra money that has not been reimbursed was deposited in three separate banks, in compliance with the direction issued by the High Court, submitted the special public prosecutor.
Similarly, Rs 16.83 crore was earned by selling the liquor bottles collected from the vending shops through the buyback scheme, said the advocate.
The corporation has constituted a committee to study and address the grievances encountered by the staff after implementing the buyback scheme. Based on the report, suitable orders would be issued to rectify the grievances of the Tasmac workers, said the special public prosecutor.
After all the submissions, the bench posted the matter to April 3 for further submissions regarding the buyback scheme.
