Kozhikode: The state government is planning to put up for sale 829 toddy shops which are lying closed. The move comes despite a prevailing government policy that new liquor outlets will not be opened.

The idea behind the move is to raise money selling shuttered shops that had no takers despite repeated attempts.

The state has 5,171 toddy shops in 909 groups. Out of them, 909 shops in 133 groups remain closed. Since the amended Abkari Act does not allow auction, the shops are sold for an year each.

The excise department will quote a price for each group of shops. If there are several applicants for each group, a lot will be drawn.

The initial decision was to sell the shops until the Toddy Board comes into existence as per Abkari Law 2018-19. However, procedural delays aborted the sale bid on April 1.

The current 4,342 licencees were then given an extension until March 31 next year. The new move is to sell the remaining shops.

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