CAG Report Reveals ₹2000 Crore Loss Due to Liquor Policy in Delhi Assembly

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): CAG report presented in Delhi Assembly… On Tuesday, the CAG report on liquor policy was presented in the Delhi Assembly. This report was presented in the House by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. The report said that the new liquor policy has caused a loss of 2000 crores to the Delhi government.

CAG report presented in Delhi Assembly… The policy was weak and there was a mess in the license process. The expert panel had suggested some changes in the policy, which were ignored by the then Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. According to the report, in the earlier liquor policy, one person used to get one license but in the new policy, one person could get more than two dozen licenses.

CAG report presented in Delhi Assembly… Earlier, 60 percent of the liquor in Delhi was sold by 4 government corporations, but in the new liquor policy, any private company can take a retail license. The commission on liquor sales was increased from 5 percent to 12 percent. The report presented by the Chief Minister said, 'The Excise Department has suffered a loss of about Rs 890.15 crore in the form of license fees from these areas, due to the surrender of these areas and the failure of the department to issue tenders again.'

The report said that irregular grant of exemptions to licensees due to Covid pandemic-related lockdown resulted in loss of revenue of Rs 144 crore.