Just days after the Madras High Court warned the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) of closing down all its retail liquor shops in the hill stations, the State government has permitted the corporation to charge ₹10 more than the maximum retail price (MRP) only in the Nilgiris and refund the excess amount when the customer returns the glass bottles without littering them in the forests.
Justices V. Bharathidasan and N. Sathish Kumar had come down heavily on Tasmac on April 18 for not bothering about the animals, especially the elephants, which suffered injuries due to the broken glass bottles. They took serious note of a submission made by amicus curiae M. Santhanaraman that elephants develop infections due to the injuries sustained after stepping on glass bottles and die within three months.
Tired of making repeated requests to the corporation to come up with a buy back scheme for the glass bottles, the judges fixed an ultimatum of April 25. Acting immediately, Tasmac Managing Director L. Subramanian wrote to the Prohibition and Excise Secretary S.K. Prabakar on April 19 seeking permission to sell liquor at ₹10 over the MRP in the Nilgiris district and refund the amount on the return of the bottles.
