Delhi CAG Report: Liquor Policy Causes Rs 2,002-Crore Loss To Government

The newly elected BJP-led Delhi government tabled the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday, February 25. The report shows that the previous government made many wrong decisions that caused huge losses. According to the report, Delhi's liquor policy, which was implemented in November 2021 and scrapped in September 2022, caused the government a loss of Rs 2,002.68 crore.

The Delhi Liquor Policy case put then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia into jail. The corruption allegations of liquor policy against the then-AAP government played a key role in the recently concluded 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, where AAP faced defeat.

The CAG report, tabled on Tuesday, caused uproar in the house. Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta suspended 21 AAP MLAs from the Legislative Assembly for the next three days. The report states that the biggest chunk of the loss, Rs 941.53 crore, was caused by liquor shops not being allowed to open in non-conforming areas—those that do not conform to land use norms for opening liquor vends—under the new policy. 

Also Read | Delhi Assembly: 12 AAP MLAs suspended for the day.

The next big loss amount of Rs 890.15 crore was because of tenders not being issued for 19 zones where licences had been surrendered. "Consequently, no excise revenue accrued as licence fee from these zones in the months after surrender. Notably, no other contingent arrangement was put in place to continue liquor retail in these zones," the report states, reported NDTV.

Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta said, "The CAG report has been tabled, and the members want to have a discussion on it, which will be continued on 27th Feb, and then it will be referred to the public accounts committee for further action. The other volumes of the CAG report will also be tabled in the future..."

On the suspension of AAP MLAs following the ruckus in the assembly, he said, "They behaved in a very unconstitutional way during LG's address. Maintaining the dignity of the House is most important...Their (AAP MLAs) behaviour is condemnable. The suspension is valid for three sittings - 25th, 27th and 28th February."