New Delhi: In the heart of India’s capital, New Delhi, a contentious debate has erupted over the city’s excise policy. On Tuesday, Atishi, the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly and a prominent AAP leader, addressed a press conference to defend the previous AAP government’s now-scrapped excise policy. This comes after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report was tabled in the Assembly, highlighting significant financial losses and discrepancies in the Excise Department’s operations.
Atishi emphasized that the CAG report validates the AAP government’s decision to replace the old excise policy, which was marred by corruption and smuggling. She noted that the report’s seven chapters focus on the old policy from 2017 to 2021, while only one chapter addresses the new policy. Atishi alleged that under the previous policy, liquor was illegally sourced from neighboring states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, leading to substantial financial losses for Delhi.
“The CAG report confirms our stance that the old policy was riddled with corruption,” Atishi stated. “Contractors were involved in over 28% of corrupt practices, with profits going to brokers. Black marketing was rampant, and it was well-known which party members held liquor contracts. Contractors profited by incorrectly calculating cost prices,” she explained.
The CAG report, titled ‘Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi,’ covers a four-year period from 2017-18 to 2020-21. It reveals that the state government incurred cumulative losses exceeding Rs 2,000 crore due to the 2021-2022 excise policy. The BJP government in Delhi, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, tabled the report, which is one of 14 pending CAG reports on the previous AAP government’s performance.
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