Kejriwal swindled Rs 2,026 cr through liquor scam, shows CAG report (Ld)

New Delhi, Jan 11 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.