The Delhi Liquor Policy has become a new flashpoint between the BJP and the ruling AAP Government in the national Capital. In his report Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, who took charge in April, has highlighted several discrepancies and irregularities in the liquor policy of the Delhi Government.
Sources said that the Delhi Government’s Cabinet decision No. 2,994, on April 15, 2021 and a subsequent Cabinet decision No. 3,003, on May 21, 2021 was taken with the sole aim of benefitting private liquor barons in lieu of financial benefits to individuals in the highest echelons of the Government, leading up to the Excise Minister Manish Sisodia.
“The note from the Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister under Rule 57, the illegal decisions taken in the past were attempted to be legalised by getting the stamp of a post facto Cabinet decision as recently as on July 14, 2022 which in itself was in violation of laid down rules and procedures. This hurriedly-convened ‘urgent’ meeting of the Cabinet on July 14 was called at 2.00 P.M. with a notice reaching the Chief Secretary, who is also the ex-officio Secretary to the Cabinet, at 9.32 A.M. on the same day without circulating any Cabinet Note”, sources said.
According to officials, this was in blatant violation of laid down provisions that enjoins that a Cabinet Note and Agenda of the Cabinet must reach the Lieutenant-Governor 48 hours before any Cabinet meeting. This prerequisite can only be relaxed in an eventuality that justifies an urgent meeting. However, in this case the Cabinet Note/Agenda were received in the L-G Secretariat at 5.00 P.M., well after the meeting had happened and decided to bail out Sisodia.
It is underlined additionally, that any decision by the Cabinet involving a policy matter should be brought to the advance information of the L-G and would hold ground only after a subsequent approval by the L-G. This meeting was convened to deliberate and decide upon a policy matter and was not of an emergency nature.
The sources further said the Excise Department on the direction of Manish Sisodia, decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) amounting to Rs 30 crore to the L-1 bidder for the licence of the Airport Zone which failed to obtain an ‘NOC’ from the airport authorities.
“However, the Government in apparent cahoots with the liquor mafia chose to refund the EMD obviously for a kick-back, when it should have actually forfeited the EMD,” sources stated.
“The Excise Department vide an order dated November 8, 2021 without approval of the competent authority, revised the formula of calculation of rates of foreign liquor and removed the levy of import pass fee at the rate of Rs. 50 per case on beer,” they said.
“This made foreign liquor as well as beer cheaper for retail (L7Z) licences at the cost of loss of revenue to the State exchequer. Clearly, extension of such benefit after the tender has been awarded, amounts to extending undue favor to licensees,” sources said.
“The Excise Department yet again convolutedly relaxed provisions of the tender document to provide undue financial favors to the L7Z licensees, when it should have actually taken coercive action against them for default in payment of licence fee, interest and penalty for non-genuine reasons,” official sources said.
According to a note from the Raj Niwas, this was done despite the fact that no specific provision for compensation in the form of reduction in tendered licence fee was available in the tender document and resulted in blatant undue benefit to the licensee and a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer. “Without any increase in the tendered licence fee and with an obvious intent of extending financial benefits to the licensees, the operational period for L7Z licensees and L1 licensees was extended first from April 1, 2022 to May 31 and then from June 1 to July 31 without taking approval of the competent authority that is the Cabinet and subsequently the L-G,” the sources said.