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The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has decided to withdraw its new liquor excise policy and said that the old excise regime will return from Monday, August 1. Under the old liquor policy, both government and private agencies were able to operate the liquor stores in the capital and no discounts were offered on alcohol.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is under fire from the BJP over allegations of irregularities in the excise policy implementation, rolled back the new excise policy which was implemented in November 2021.
Now, with the re-implementation of the old liquor policy in the national capital, four Delhi government agencies will sell liquor along with private operators. These four government agencies include–Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC), and Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store (DCCWS).
About Delhi’s old liquor policy:
- Under this, Delhi had 864 liquor shops, including 475 run by the four government agencies, and 389 by private players.
- Under this regime, Delhi observed 21 dry days while in a new regime the liquor shops used to be shut for three days only.
- There was no minimum area required to open liquor shops.
- No discounts were offered in the old liquor regime in Delhi.
What Delhi government had offered in the new liquor policy?
- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government implemented the new liquor policy on November 16, 2021. It changed the way liquor was sold in the city with the government withdrawing from the business and allowing private operators to run the shops. Under Delhi’s new liquor policy, the city was divided into 32 zones, and firms were invited to bid on the zones.
- For the first time, the Delhi government allowed shops to offer discounts to retail customers and reduced the number of dry days to three from 21. This policy also had a provision for home delivery of liquor and lowered the drinking age from 25 to 21, but these were not implemented.
Delhi’s new liquor policy ran into rough weather after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI inquiry into its formulation and implementation a report by chief secretary Naresh Kumar. Kumar along with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has been accusing the government of irregularities and corruption in its implementation.
Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, holding Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in charge of the excise department, accountable.
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