In simple parlance, at the outset, a single Rupee of revenue due to be earned by the Government must be received by it and any type of manipulations at any level whatsoever, must be dealt with sternly. That should be the first principle as revenue being its income, no Government can function without having its due and accrued ‘income’. If deliberately, as a result of a conspiracy and by employing fraudulent measures, loss of crores of Rupees of revenue is caused to the public exchequer, the matter becomes all the more serious as, prima facia, appears in the liquor scam in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. Terming it as mere irregularity in procedural conduct of issuing of liquor licenses and renewal of such licences is tantamount to camouflaging and diluting the seriousness of the matter. Is there a powerful liquor mafia at work and for how long? Who are the touts and conduits of the said liquor mafia? Is it possible that any type of serious hanky- panky in the Excise Department can be kept under the carpet for a considerable period of time? Has there been regular periodic audits and inspections in the UT Excise Department and whether any finding in the audit note and report been highlighted let alone attended and rectified? Are suspected employees relieved of their present duties and their ‘tables’ changed to safeguard and tampering of important papers, files and documents prevented? These are some of the questions which require clarification followed by a deep analysis.
However, it is learnt that Excise Commissioner, Jammu and Kashmir has ordered an inquiry into grave malpractices in issuing and renewing of liquor licences going on unabatedly for years together. Had he not conducted, at random, routine scrutiny of records of the Department, he would have otherwise not come across blatant instances of violations of J&K Excise Act itself and also Liquor Licensing and Sale Rules. Not only this, even non -fulfilling of subsequent terms and conditions of the issued licences too has been observed. ‘Excelsior’ has, through these columns, been regularly stressing upon the irreversible and inevitable need of subjecting Government departments to periodic audits and surprise inspections, even from professionals in private sector especially those which generate revenues for the Government. The cost of such audits would be quite negligible as compared to recurring losses caused to the public exchequer. That arrangement could be in addition to routine audits from the competent government authority designated for the said purpose. Had that simple practice been made mandatory, perhaps, irregularities in issuing liquor licences for obvious considerations, would have not taken place.
How can some ‘blue eyed’ liquor vendors continue to operate beyond the term of the licence and how are multiple licences issued to the same vendors , taking recourse to proxies, looks nothing but a ‘free for all game’ going on in the Excise Department. Who was going to compensate the Government of the loss caused to its rightful due revenues and what about the difficulties, as such, faced by the Excise Department in enforcing regulation of trade in an open and transparent manner? We can only appreciate the move of the Excise Commissioner in taking on the emerged issue on two fronts; one – to see and find the magnitude of the scam and set all records right and; two- identify the ‘black sheep ‘ from within the Department and punish them without whom and without whose active connivance, these irregularities would never have taken place for obvious considerations.
We hope that the detailed inquiry into the edifice of the liquor mafia – insiders nexus would be known in its form, tenor and magnitude, not after months till the proverbial dust settles over the matter but within shortest period of time. In the mean time, the exact loss caused to the public exchequer should duly be reckoned and recovered from the defaulters and the ‘insiders’ on the principle of pari passu, other legal action in addition notwithstanding.
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