New Delhi (India), February 25: The Delhi government, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, on Tuesday tabled the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the Delhi Excise Policy in the Delhi Assembly. The report, titled Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi, covers a four-year period from 2017-18 to 2020-21. It evaluates the regulation and supply of both Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Foreign Liquor in the national capital.
As the report was presented, BJP leaders lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), accusing it of attempting to disrupt the Assembly proceedings to avoid the consequences of the findings. BJP leader Arvinder Singh Lovely said, “They attempted to disrupt the House by insisting that the CAG report be tabled. However, the Speaker had to remove them. We wanted the opposition to stay and engage in direct dialogue, but they are so afraid of the CAG report that they are running away from it. They fear the consequences, including jail time. That’s why Baba Saheb is being used as a shield.”
BJP MLA Ajay Mahawar also took aim at AAP, accusing the party of violating democratic principles. “AAP has gone against the principles of Babasaheb. To avoid accountability and create a commotion, they even built an exit corridor. The entire situation was just an attempt to disrupt proceedings. So far, only one volume of the report has been tabled, but there are fourteen volumes in total,” Mahawar said.
This report is one of 14 pending CAG reports on the performance of the previous AAP government. The findings of the Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi raised serious concerns about the workings of the Excise Department.
The audit revealed discrepancies in the way the Excise Department monitored and regulated the supply of liquor in Delhi. According to the report, the state government suffered cumulative losses of more than Rs 2,000 crore due to the 2021-2022 excise policy. The total financial implication of the audit findings amounted to approximately Rs 2,026.91 crore.
One of the key findings was that the Excise Department failed to ensure the implementation of Rule 35 of the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010, which prohibits the issuance of multiple licenses to related parties across different categories (Wholesaler, Retailer, HCR, etc.). This led to the existence of common directorship among entities holding various licenses, raising questions about the department’s effectiveness in fulfilling its regulatory responsibilities.