No lifting of toddy ban in T. N., centralised monitoring of palm tree impossible, says govt. in HC - The HinduUpdated - September 22, 2026 12:12 am IST - MADURAIThe Tamil Nadu government has informed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court it does not intend to lift the ban on toddy tapping from palm trees.In a counter-affidavit filed in the court in response to a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction to the government to review the policy governing prohibition of palmyra and coconut toddy, the government said there was no discriminatory approach, rather, the differential treatment rests on an intelligible differentia—monitorability and public-health risk—having a rational nexus with the objective sought to be achieved, namely, the prevention of consumption of adulterated and unsafe intoxicating liquor.The State continues its endeavour to bring about prohibition of intoxicating drinks that are injurious to public health consistent with the directive principles contained in Article 47 of the Constitution.Toddy has low alcohol strength and is normally adulterated with stupefying substances such as Chloral Hydrate and Datura (Atropine) in order to enhance its inebriating effect. When Chloral Hydrate is dissolved in toddy, it mixes thoroughly and cannot be differentiated from genuine toddy.“Such adulterated toddy is highly harmful to consumers, even fatal, and its consumption cannot be closely watched or monitored. In the case of toddy, every palm tree is, in effect, a manufacturing unit and it is not possible to monitor production under each and every palm tree individually. Adulteration could occur at any point, from tapping to selling at toddy shops. It is only on this background that the government took the policy decision to ban the tapping of toddy. It is on this basis and not to protect any commercial interest that the government has taken the policy decision to ban toddy tapping,” the State said.It pointed out tapping of unfermented sap from coconut, palmyra and other palm trees has been a continuously regulated activity under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937 since as early as 1939, when the State first framed the Tamil Nadu Neera or Padani Rules, 1939 for this very purpose. The Tamil Nadu Neera Rules, 2017, in its own preamble, expressly records that it is made ‘in supersession of the Tamil Nadu Neera or Padani Rules, 1939’.The State has continuously maintained and periodically modernised a dedicated statutory licensing regime for precisely this activity for nearly 87 years, from 1939 to the present Rules of 2017, which themselves were substantially revisedThe State government has promulgated various Rules under Section 54 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937, permitting the manufacture, stocking, distribution, sale and consumption of IMFL, Beer, etc., where production is confined to a limited number of licensed manufacturing units capable of being closely watched and monitored.No corresponding rule has been, or could be, framed for the manufacture, retail or consumption of fermented toddy, since every Palm Tree is, in effect, an individual manufacturing unit incapable of centralised monitoring, and adulteration may occur at any stage from tapping to sale at the toddy shop, the State said.“Tappers are already free to tap Neera/Pathaneer (in the case of coconut) and Padani (in the case of palmyra, date and other palm trees), which can be sold as such without any further conversion and the same is being marketed through the Tamil Nadu Palm Products Development Board (constituted under the Tamil Nadu Palm Products Development Board Act, 1994), Palmgur Societies/Federations registered thereunder and the Khadi and Village Industries Board. Neera/Padani may also be used for the manufacture of ‘Palm Gur’ and other associated value-added products. The objective of the Tamil Nadu Palm Products Development Board Act, 1994, is precisely to benefit tappers and palm-tree growers and to enable them to avail of Government welfare schemes,” the State said.The State, under its regulatory power, has the right to prohibit absolutely every form of activity in relation to intoxicants - their manufacture, storage, export, import, sale and possession - such power vesting exclusively in the State, without which no effective regulation of activities relating to intoxicants would be possible.Regarding conservation, the State said under the coastal habitat rehabilitation schemes implemented by the Environment, Climate Change and Forest Department, palm saplings have been planted across approximately 120 hectares in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu.A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel was hearing the petition filed by advocate Theeran Thirumurugan of Madurai. He sought a direction to the government to review the policy governing prohibition of palmyra and coconut toddy, and formulate an appropriate one for permitting regulated tapping, manufacture, transportation and sale of toddy. The court posted the matter for hearing to October 27.Published - September 21, 2026 08:55 pm ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }