New Delhi:

Pointing to a string of wrong decisions and omissions, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday states that the scrapped liquor policy which was implemented in November 2021 and scrapped in September the next year caused a loss of Rs 2,002.68 crore to the Delhi government. 

The liquor policy was an albatross around the neck of the previous AAP government and had led to several of its leaders, including then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, landing behind bars. The corruption allegations surrounding the policy are also seen as having played a key role in the AAP being defeated in this month’s Assembly elections and the BJP forming a government in Delhi after a gap of 26 years. 

The report, which was tabled amid a huge uproar in the Assembly – which also saw 15 AAP MLAs being suspended – divides the losses into various subheads. It states that the biggest chunk of the loss, Rs 941.53 crore, was because liquor shops were not allowed to open in non-conforming areas – those that do not conform to land use norms for opening liquor vends – under the new policy. 

The next big loss amount of Rs 890.15 crore was because of tenders not being issued for 19 zones where licences had been surrendered. “Consequently, no excise revenue accrued as licence fee from these zones in the months after surrender. Notably, no other contingent arrangement was put in place to continue liquor retail in these zones,” the report states.

The report also said that a loss of revenue of Rs 144 was caused because of fees being waived to licensees in the name of Covid-19 and Rs 27 crore because of the “incorrect collection” of security deposit from zonal licensees. The figures under these four subheads add up to Rs 2,002.68 crore.