What is there in the CAG report on the Delhi liquor scam? How has the loss of Rs 2002 crore been claimed in it? In which areas has CAG talked about the lapses on the part of the government? Apart from this, what are the reasons given for this? Let's know
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta presented the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the Delhi Assembly regarding the Delhi liquor scam. After it was placed in the assembly house, many important revelations have been made. The thing on which BJP leaders have emphasized the most in the CAG report is the loss of Rs 2002 crore, which has created a ruckus.
In such a situation, it is important to know what is in the CAG report on the Delhi liquor scam. How has the loss of Rs 2002 crore been claimed in it? In which areas has CAG pointed out the lapses on the part of the government? Apart from this, what are the reasons given for this?
What is the CAG report on the Delhi liquor scam?
According to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), the Excise Policy of 2021-2022 resulted in a loss of more than Rs 2002 crore. The recommendations of an expert committee constituted to suggest changes in the formulation of the now defunct liquor policy were ignored by the then Deputy Chief Minister and Excise Minister Manish Sisodia. The report claims a revenue loss of Rs 941.53 crore.
Apart from this, permission was not taken in time to open liquor shops in non-conforming municipal wards. There was a loss of about Rs 890.15 crore in the form of license fees. There was a loss of revenue of Rs 144 crore due to irregular grant exemption to licensees. In this sense, overall, Delhi suffered a loss of Rs 2029 crore due to the liquor policy brought by the AAP government.
1. How did Delhi suffer a loss of Rs 941 crore?
Under the Delhi government's Excise Policy 2021-22, permission was given to open liquor shops in non-conforming areas. However, approval was not taken from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation (MCD). Actually, according to the Delhi Master Plan (MPD-2021), opening liquor shops in mixed land use and non-conforming areas was prohibited and approval of DDA-MCD was mandatory for this. However, the Excise Department issued licenses to open shops in 67 non-conforming wards despite this ban.
On 16 November 2021, DDA declared these shops illegal and directed them to be closed. Due to this, the licensees reached the Delhi High Court. On 9 December 2021, the court ruled that the government cannot collect license fees from these shops. Due to this, a total loss of more than Rs 941 crore was incurred.
2. How did the Delhi liquor scam result in a loss of ₹890 crore?
Under the Delhi government's Excise Policy 2021-22, 19 zonal licensees surrendered their licenses before the expiry of the policy. License holders of 4 zones in March 2022, 5 zones in May 2022, and 10 zones in July 2022 returned their licenses. However, the Excise Department did not re-tender for these zones, causing a revenue loss of ₹890 crore to the government.
No alternative plan was also made for the operation of liquor shops in these zones, due to which the retail sale of liquor in these areas was completely stopped. The government had to re-auction these zones as per the rules, so that their operation could continue. However, due to this not happening, no excise duty was received from these zones, causing this huge loss.
According to the CAG report, there was no condition in the Delhi government's excise policy to ensure that if a licensee surrenders his license, the government could immediately re-auction these licenses. Due to this mess, the auction process was delayed, due to which no revenue was collected for months.
3. What is the reason for the loss of Rs 144 crore in the liquor scam?
Liquor shops were closed from 28 December 2021 to 27 January 2022 due to Kovid-19. License holders demanded exemptions in license fees. The Excise and Finance Department of Delhi opposed this exemption, as there was no provision for it in the tender documents. All business risks should have been applicable to the license holders only.
On January 6, 2022, the Delhi High Court ordered the Excise Department to take a clear and logical decision on this subject. After this, the Excise Department clearly stated that no major decline has been recorded in the sale of liquor, so it would not be appropriate to give exemption due to Kovid restrictions.
Despite this, the then Excise Minister Manish Sisodia gave this exemption to the licensees. The surprising thing is that it was mandatory to get the approval of the Cabinet for any such exemption, but this decision was taken at the level of the Minister-in-Charge. According to the CAG, due to this, the Delhi government had to suffer a loss of Rs 144 crore.
How did the Delhi Liquor Policy cause a loss of Rs 27 crore?
Under the Delhi Government's Excise Policy 2021-22, the security deposit to be taken from the zonal license holders was wrongly calculated. Actually, liquor licensees have to deposit 25 percent of their annual license fee as security deposit. That is, whatever fee is to be charged for a one-year license, about one-fourth of its fee is given in security.
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