Delhi govt to bring new transparent excise policy: CM Rekha Gupta

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta has announced that her government will come up with a new "foolproof" excise policy, adopting best practices of other states to boost revenue.

Gupta, in an interview with PTI, said that the policy will be transparent and tailored to ensure it does not create any issue in society.

The BJP formed the government in Delhi in February this year. The alleged irregularities and corruption in the excise policy 2021-22 brought by the previous AAP government was one of the major poll issues for the BJP. This policy was scrapped after the charges surfaced.

"We will bring a new, foolproof policy that is transparent and generates revenue for the government. The policy will be such that it does not cause any problems to the people and society at large. In some states, excise policies are doing fine. We will follow these best excise policies of different states,” she said in the interview.

The AAP replaced the old excise policy in November 2021, with the new policy (2021-22) to reform liquor trade in Delhi.

A CBI probe was recommended by Lt Governor V K Saxena in July 2022 to look into the charges of irregularities and violation of rules in the formulation and implementation of the policy, soon after which the AAP government scrapped it.

Under the policy, private players were allowed to operate wholesale and retail liquor operations. The liquor vends were handed over to private companies and the government quit the business.

Later, the policy was scrapped on August 31, 2022 with private liquor shops shutting doors.

The old policy, under which the wholesale and retail liquor sales were handled by the Delhi government was implemented again and it continues.

Delhi at present has around 700 liquor stores operated by four Corporations of the government.