The oft repeated claims of more transparency and impeccability in opening of liquor vends and in granting of licences under a new revised procedure and the results on the ground point to the proverbial ‘misfortune in the very first adventure’ which seems to have operated as 90 percent of the liquor vends are still not opened even after having given the highest bids. While the reasons are primarily described as non submission of the Bank (account transactions) statements by the concerned vendees, at the same time it shows how they proved quite smart enough to find out the weaknesses in the new Excise Policy. Why were in fact weaknesses or loopholes provided?. Administrative efficiency and expected care in making and shaping the Policy, therefore, is found not on professional lines. What should have in the ordinary course of business been done is making out a checklist wherein should have been incorporated at the top mandatorily asking for the authenticated Bank statements for the last three years, solvency certificate, credit worthiness ratings if the vendee was a borrower, property documents and other documents required including proof of domicile etc before entertaining any prospective vendee for the bidding /auction process and not subsequently after having caused revenue loss to the public exchequer. Who has allowed, we are afraid, the liquor mafia to make use and take undue advantage of the loopholes in the New Policy, too needs to be probed. Any money lawfully due to Government, if not collected on account of mismanagement or flawed policies, cannot be condoned.
We are principally in agreement with the claims of the Government to put an end to an already existing monopolistic hold on the retail liquor trade in Jammu and Kashmir by a few liquor traders and that the new policy was verily issued to circumvent any possibilities of obtaining liquor licences through proxies but the ground results lend credence to fears that the mafia has succeeded in its mission to a larger extent at least ”showing to the Government” that instead of garnering more revenues which it expected making a hype, in fact, fell appreciably. Has supposedly a single Bank account been used and reused for bidding process as well as for obtaining licences in many instances thus putting wool into the eyes of the architects of the New Excise Policy? In other words, hold on liquor trade and monopoly on it has been ensured to remain in status quo ante position and seen not being altered, by the smart liquor mafia. It is not an ordinary development but a cause of concern.
In this connection, it needs to be clarified as to how, perhaps, in the absence of the most important document of Bank accounts and transactions, getting or retrieving which from the Banks, takes not more than just a few minutes, the concerned (now defaulting) vendees were allowed to participate in the auction/bidding process for the financial year 2022. In fact, not only for the highest bidders, such a stipulation should have been there uniformly for all bidders, highest, normal or lowest ones for obtaining retail vending licences. The entire mess created out of the ”oversights” in drafting the new Policy and subsequently in its implementation has resulted in considerable delay in opening of retail vends of liquor shops across Jammu and Kashmir which otherwise was envisaged to be opened more in number than in the past with an eye on collecting more revenue. Revenue avenues are shrinking and planning to increase it through the known and assured sources too are not managed properly which puts a big question mark on the entire excise policy and its implementation. Anyway, now since the time limit stands extended up to April 20 for furnishing Bank statements, to the concerned highest bidders, let us see whether the problem gets resolved or some other findings shall render obtaining of Bank account transaction and allied certificates second in importance.
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