New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS) Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers allegedly swindled over Rs 2,026 crore as the liquor excise policy lacked transparency and thrived on illegal decision-making to benefit some favoured licencees, said a Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report whose excerpts came into public domain on Saturday.
The document of the government’s auditor that has exposed the liquor scam is named, “Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi.”
The damning findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Girish Chandra Murmu, over the AAP government’s controversial liquor policy come as a big setback to the ruling AAP ahead of the February 5 Assembly elections, giving fresh ammunition to the Opposition BJP and the Congress who have dubbed the scam “Liquorgate”.
“Responsibility and accountability should be fixed for the lapses observed and the enforcement mechanism should be strengthened,” said Murmu in his final recommendation in the report for the year ended March 31, 2022. The report was also signed by Principal Accountant General (Audit), Delhi, Aman Deep Chatha.
The BJP’s Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said, “The Aam Aadmi Party government of Delhi has today proven to be the most corrupt government of the country.”
“We need answers on who benefitted from the loss of public money and which AAP leaders received kickbacks,” he said.
One of the key findings was the non-setting up of labs to check the quality of liquor being supplied in Delhi, a lapse that exposed millions of city residents to health risks.
The government auditor’s report tore into the AAP government’s policy-making and implementation, citing several instances of irregularities like – lack of transparency in pricing, violation in issue and renewal of licences, non-penalisation of violators, non-seeking of approval from LG, Cabinet or the Assembly.
“Actual implementation was sub-optimal and objectives behind the policy were not achieved. Vends in non-conforming wards could not be opened and equitable distribution of retail vends could not be achieved. Issue and management of zonal licences had major shortcomings,” said the report.
The ruling AAP questioned the veracity of the ‘leaked’ CAG report and dismissed allegations of wrongdoing against Kejriwal and his Cabinet ministers, including Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain, who were arrested and later granted bail in money laundering and corruption cases linked to the excise policy.
The CAG report said the exchequer lost around Rs 890 crore as the AAP government did not re-tender the surrendered retail liquor licences.
The report noted, “There was lack of scrutiny of the business entities with regards to their financial wherewithal and management expertise. Instances of related business entities holding licences across the liquor supply chain were noticed.”
“Liquor supply data indicates exclusivity arrangements between zonal licencees and wholesalers and Brand Pushing. Surrender of zonal licences during the extended policy period further led to substantial revenue loss. Other important measures which were planned in the policy, like setting up of laboratories and batch testing for quality assurance, setting up of super premium vends etc., were not implemented,” it said.
The government lost an additional Rs 941 crore due to the exemptions that had to be given to the zonal licencees, the report said.
The Group of Ministers, headed by Minister Manish Sisodia, allegedly did not act on the recommendation of the expert panel and even allowed disqualified entities to bid for licences.
The findings on alleged wrongdoings, due to which Kejriwal, Sisodia and many other government functionaries, faced money laundering and corruption cases, are sure to raise the political temperature in Delhi where the AAP is trying to come back to power for a fourth time.
The elections for the 70 Assembly seats will be held on February 5 and the results will be declared on February 8. In the current House, the AAP has 62 legislators and the BJP has 8.
–IANS
rch/rad
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
