Rs 2K-cr loss: CAG report on Delhi excise policy tabled
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta on Tuesday tabled in the Assembly the Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) report on the now-scrapped excise policy of 2021-22 that pointed to a loss of Rs 2,002 crore to the exchequer.
Editorial: Big blow to AAP
Leader of Opposition (LoP) Atishi defended the previous AAP government’s role saying seven out of the eight chapters in the CAG report highlighted the shortcomings of the old excise policy, while only one focused on the new. She cited the CAG report to claim that the old policy was marred by corruption and smuggling.
‘Risked monopolies, overlooked quality’
- Weak policy framework and deficient implementation led to Rs 2,002.68 cr loss in excise revenue, claims the CAG report
- New excise policy risked monopolies and brand pushing due to ‘exclusive’ deal between a few wholesalers and manufactures
- Recommendations of panel constituted to formulate policy changed by group of ministers headed by then Deputy CM Sisodia
- Licences issued to entities not compliant with norms of the Bureau of Indian Standards or not having proper quality test reports
This came as 21 AAP legislators, including LoP Atishi, were suspended for the next three sittings for creating a ruckus even as the session was extended by three days for a discussion on the report.
As the 208-page report was tabled, Speaker Vijender Gupta said: “Only one report will be tabled today as it is massive, voluminous and has a backlog of many years. We want everything to come out clearly before the people of Delhi. In the coming days, the second report will also be presented.” He said it was a grave matter that the report was not tabled by the previous AAP government for years. “In my view, this is a criminal offence.” he asserted. Gupta said the document would be referred to the public accounts committee (PAC) of the House, which is yet to be formed, to look into it and submit a report. The second day of the session again saw an acrimonious start as opposition AAP MLAs Jarnail Singh, Anil Jha and Vishesh Ravi started raising slogans as L-G VK Saxena began his address.
Speaker Gupta initially asked the Opposition to maintain decorum, but as his directives went unheeded, he asked the marshals to escort the MLAs out of the House. He suspended all 21 AAP MLAs present.
As the House reassembled after a brief period, the CAG report was tabled by CM Gupta. The excise policy was implemented to simplify liquor trade, bring transparency, check monopoly, generate optimum revenue as well as ensure better consumer experience. However, the CAG report stated that the changes effected to the policy were “fraught with shortcomings” and the “actual implementation was sub-optimal”.
The new policy, touted as a way to boost the city’s treasury and revolutionise the consumer experience by replacing the existing liquor vends with swanky stores, was implemented from November 17, 2021, in the middle of the deadly Delta wave of the Covid. Retail licences were given to private bidders for 849 vends across the city, divided into 32 zones.
The CAG report observed that the way the policy was designed, it increased the risk of “monopolisation and cartel formation”. It said recommendations by the expert panel were disregarded by the group of ministers led by then Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
AAP claimed that the CAG report validated their long-standing claim of large-scale corruption under the old excise policy. It said the report highlighted how profits were manipulated by underreporting 28% of liquor sales, while unchecked smuggling from UP and Haryana drained Delhi’s revenue.
LoP Atishi pointed out that the CAG report highlighted that if the policy had been implemented properly, the excise revenue could have increased from Rs 4,108 crore to Rs 8,911 crore in just one year.
“The crucial question is: If a bad policy was replaced with a transparent one, then why was it not implemented correctly? Why did the government’s revenue fall short by Rs 2,000 crores? Who was responsible?” the LoP said, demanding a thorough probe into the matter.
