New Delhi: The Delhi Assembly on Thursday discussed the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) damning report on the previous AAP government’s excise policy even as Speaker Vijender Gupta sent the document to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Speaker Vijender Gupta forwarded the CAG report to the PAC and sought a report within three weeks, said sources in the Assembly secretariat.
“An action-take report has also been sought from the excise department within one month,” said an aide of the Speaker.
A fresh CAG report on mismanagement of funds during Covid-19, resulting in addition of just about 1,300 beds as against the promised 30,000 beds, is likely to be tabled on Friday.
Earlier, during the discussion on the CAG report – which flagged a loss of Rs 2002 crore to the exchequer due to the AAP government’s excise policy – BJP MLAs hit out at favouritism in the issue of liquor licences, the opening of vends in residential areas and the absence of lab test of liquor before sale in the city.
Taking part in discussion on the CAG report, Upadhyay raised the issue of the absence of quality check of liquor at the time of issuing licences to vendors, as exposed by the report on the excise policy (now scrapped) of the previous AAP government.
“The CAG report said the liquor licence did not fulfil the obligation of getting liquor samples tests. Such a policy of the AAP encouraged the sale of illicit liquor in the city,” he said.
He said the government lost an additional Rs 941 crore due to the exemptions that had to be given to the zonal licensees.
The CAG report said the exchequer lost around Rs 890 crore as the AAP did not re-tender the surrendered retail liquor licences, he said.
Jangpura legislator Tarvinder Singh Marwah said the CAG policy was drafted to fund Arvind Kejriwal’s Prime Ministerial ambitions.
“From paying high rents for vends in residential areas to smuggling of liquor through trucks from manufacturing units, the excise policy was at the root of many malpractices,” he said, alleging that low-cost liquor lured even 14-year-olds towards alcoholism.
Greater Kailash MLA Shika Rai joined the debate on the CAG report by alleging that the easy availability of liquor in Delhi under AAP’s faulty excise policy of “one-plus-one” bottles had a negative impact on low-income groups.
“Incidents of domestic violence increased along with debt in the city,” she said, adding that at a time when many poor people were struggling to earn income, they were lured into spending a lot of money on liquor.
Najafgarh legislator Neelam Pehalwan alleged that by opening ‘Pink liquor vends’ and offering discounts, the AAP government pushed women towards alcoholism.
She also hit out at the arbitrary increase in commission from 5 per cent to 12 per cent to liquor dealers and reduction in the number of dry days.
“There are three schools in my constituency and liquor vends were opened close to all of them,” she said.
Hitting out at the AAP government for the liquor scam, Moti Nagar legislator Harish Khurana said that the writing in the wall is clear that the “kingpin of the excise scam will again go back to jail”, a veiled reference to former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The CAG report tabled in Delhi Assembly said that the policy of former CM Kejriwal and his ministers allegedly caused a loss of over Rs 2,002 crore to the exchequer.
(IANS)
