Thiruvananthapuram: As part of its proposed new liquor policy, the Kerala government is expected to announce the formation of a ‘Toddy Corporation’ for the local brew similar to the state Beverages Corporation, which procures and sells foreign liquor.
The new corporation would be engaged in regulating the functioning of toddy shops, carrying out procurement and distribution of toddy and deployment of employees for these tasks.
Official sources said that the corporation has been envisaged to modernize toddy shops. They said that the government also has plans to hand over the running of the toddy shops to workers’ cooperatives which win the tenders floated for the purpose. Moreover, the toddy shops would function like Beverages Corporation outlets. “More employment opportunities can be created by these measures,” said an official.
Measures planned
As per the new proposal, toddy procured from within and outside Kerala would be brought to the godowns of the Warehousing Corporation and distributed from there to the toddy shops.
The toddy would be sold to customers by workers’ unions at outlets that function on the model of hotels. The Toddy Corporation will have no role in this activity and the workers need to meet the expenses on salaries and rent from the collections at the toddy shops.
Benefits
Toddy shops would attract more customers if they are managed efficiently, feels the government. This, in turn, would help revive the toddy sector, the official pointed out. Moreover, the productivity of the sector, which is unorganized at present, will increase after the setting up of the corporation, the official added.
Welfare Board
Yet another plan of the government is to bring the Toddy Welfare Board under the new corporation.