More hiccups: No Dutch courage in Delhi govt's new excise policy

The new liquor policy promised several changes to the way alcoholic drinks are sold in Delhi

The new liquor policy of Delhi, which caused the arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday, was mooted in 2020 and implemented in November 2021. It promised several changes to the way alcoholic drinks are sold. The policy marked the exit of the government from selling liquor and handing over operations to private retailers. Delhi was divided into 32 zones: Each zone had 27 liquor vends, which means each municipal ward had two to three vends.

The new policy allowed home delivery, the opening of shops till 3 am, and permitted sellers to offer unlimited discounts, ending the system of selling at government-mandated maximum retail price and an overall better user experience.

However, when Naresh Kumar was appointed Delhi chief secretary in April 2022, he examined the files related to the new liquor policy and found several irregularities and procedural lapses in its formulation and implementation.

According to his report, cartelisation and monopolies were taking place in the liquor trade. He also alleged that there was the illegal distribution of liquor licences to companies that had violated the terms and conditions of the New Excise Policy 2021-22.

According to the allegations made in the report, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister (CM) Manish Sisodia made changes to the excise policy without mandatory approval from the lieutenant governor (L-G). The L-G referred the matter to the CBI, which then filed a first information report (FIR), followed by a second one. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also swung into action.

According to the CBI FIR, L-1 licences were issued illegally in exchange for bribes. It was found that L-1 licence holders were issuing credit notes to retail vendors to divert funds to public servants, showing that it was a method of paying bribes in exchange for licences. The licence holders also made false entries in their accounts to keep the records of such bribes straight.

The CBI said Amit Arora, Dinesh Arora, and Arjun Pandey were actively involved in managing and diverting the bribe money to public servants. Dinesh Arora is an associate of Sisodia.

Says Amod Agrawal, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party leader: “Dinesh Arora has since turned approver.”

“I will visit the CBI office by the end of February. Being the finance minister, preparing the Budget is very important, so I have requested for a shift in date. I have always cooperated with these agencies,” Sisodia told reporters when he first got the notice. He appeared before the agency on Sunday (February 26) although he was not named as accused in the charge sheet.

The second charge sheet by the CBI leads to links between the so-called ‘South mafia’, a group of Telangana-based businessmen and political leaders, including Kalvakuntla Kavitha, member of a legislative council and daughter of Telangana CM Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao.