On Friday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena approved the suspension of 11 senior officials of the Excise Department, including top bureaucrats, for flaws in the formulation of the new excise policy and its alleged mismanaged execution.
According to the reports, VK Saxena ordered disciplinary procedures against Arava Gopi Krishna, the former commissioner of Excise, and Anand Kumar Tiwari, the former Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) officer. Apart from the two DANICs officers, the LG also recommended the suspension of nine other Excise department personnel.
Update: LG Delhi approves suspension of 11 Excise officials including the then Excise Commissioner, DCs & ACs for deliberate lapses in implementing Excise Policy 2021-22. Details of Officers whose suspension approved and the findings of Vigilance Enquiry. https://t.co/HFgm0dhkdf pic.twitter.com/gH3uKis3UE
— Jitender Sharma (@capt_ivane) August 6, 2022
This is after the LG ordered an investigation into the new excise policy 2021-22 for suspected rule breaches and procedural failures. The LG suggested that the CBI investigate the inconsistencies and shortcomings in the new Excise policy. Reportedly, the LG decided to suspend officials due to severe lapses on their part in the implementation of the Excise policy and also irregularities in finalizing the tender.
To note, Delhi Dy CM Manish Sisodiya held a press conference on August 6 to blame Delhi’s Ex Lt Governor Anil Baijal for corruption in the new excise policy which has now been rolled back. Sisodia demanded a CBI investigation over the decision modification and questioned whether the LG was pressured. “It should also be investigated whether the former LG made the decision under duress and whether any Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was involved,” he accused.
Responding to the allegations made by the Delhi Dy CM, BJP’s Sambit Patra said that the Aam Aadmi Party was manufacturing a lie and was deliberately dragging the former LG into the matter.
The EOW of the Delhi Police earlier sent a notice to the assistant commissioner of the Delhi Excise Department, requesting information concerning the suspected illicit distribution of liquor licences to organisations that breached the terms and conditions of the New Excise Policy 2021-22. It has demanded papers and information from the excise department regarding when the New Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 was formed and when tenders for the award of liquor licences under the new policy were announced.
The EOW has also requested the department to disclose the application forms for all successful applicants who acquired a liquor licence, as well as any other relevant papers that they were required to provide.
In the meanwhile, as the new excise policy has been scrapped due to allegations of corruption, the licences granted to private liquor shops will expire on August 31. The Delhi govt will return to the old policy of state-run liquor stores and has decided to open 700 vends by the year-end, including 5 premium stores. The liquor outlets will be operated by four govt undertakings, Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), and Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Stores (DCCWS) and Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC).
