Comptroller and Auditor General of India report related to the previous Aam Aadmi Party government’s liquor policy has highlighted that it led to a loss of over two thousand crore rupees to government exchequer. The report which was tabled in the Delhi Assembly by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta today flagged several discrepancies in the way the City Excise Department monitored and regulated the supply of Liquor in the national capital. It found violations in the award of licenses to wholesalers, retailers, hotels, clubs and restaurants. The report added that the Department was issuing licenses without checking various requirements relating to Excise Rules and Terms and Conditions for the issue of different types of licenses.
Akashvani’s correspondent reports, over two hundred pages report point out poor execution of Enforcement functions ranging from incorrect inspection reports to deficient show cause notices and incorrect collection of security deposits from zonal Licensees and other lacuna in the liquor policy .
The report also talks about the lack of transparency in the pricing of Indian Made Foreign Liquor. The Central Auditor highlighted inadequate Quality Control of liquor during the previous regime and stressed the need for proactive monitoring of the quality of alcohol and framing of stringent quality standards. Talking about the issues in the implementation of the Excise Policy, the report said while some retailers retained licenses till the expiry of the policy period, some surrendered the same before the policy period was over which disrupted supply leading to revenue loss of around nine hundred crore rupees.
Speaker Vijender Gupta said that the CAG reports had not been tabled in the House since 2017-18. He added that the previous government violated the provisions related to CAG reports in the Constitution. Commenting on the report in the House, BJP MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely accused the previous AAP government of undermining democratic values.
