RANCHI: BJP MLA Biranchi Narayan, during the ongoing Budget Session of the Jharkhand Assembly, expresses concern over the liquor revenue deficit, questioning the failure to achieve targets despite implementing the excise policy ignoring the revenue board's eight objections and the Jharkhand Governor's suggestions to make changes accordingly.
Alleging a Delhi-like liquor scam in Jharkhand, he demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter.
Notably, till February 15, 2023, the State Government has collected a revenue of Rs 1607 crore against the target of Rs 2500 crore during the financial year 2022-23. Biranchi further alleged that the faulty liquor policy has directly benefitted some of the top politicians and officials in Jharkhand.
“The liquor scam which has taken place in Jharkhand has been executed on the lines of Delhi, and I strongly believe that it is being done on the behest of the State Government,” said the BJP MLA. People sitting on the helm of affairs, at the level of Chief Minister, are protecting it, he added.
"You talk about jal, jungle and zameen (Water, forest and land), but in spite of giving work to the local
companies, they outsourced the contract to a company located in Chhattisgarh, which not only is getting the hologram printed from private agencies, but also promoting adulteration of liquor in the State, further selling it on higher rates,” said Biranchi Narayan.
"It has to be found out where this extra money, being earned by selling it on nearly double the rate of liquor, is going," he added.
According to Biranchi Narayan, it is not only a matter of a revenue deficit of Rs 690 crore, but if investigated properly, it will come out to be a scam of several thousand crores.
“I am quite sure, like Manish Sisodia, many of the people sitting on the helm of affairs in the Jharkhand Government will be behind bars once the matter gets investigated,” said Biranchi Naryan.
Independent MLA Saryu Roy also asserted that the intention of the State Government is not fair.
“It is clear cut fault of the state government as they did not pay heed to the suggestions of the board of revenue and the objections rose by the Governor on liquor policy,” said Saryu Roy. Deliberate efforts are being made to create a situation of chaos in the state, he added.
According to Roy, he doesn’t have any data that who benefitted from it, but if the State Government is not able to reply to the questions raised by the legislators in the Assembly, it means there are irregularities in it.
Responding on behalf of the state government, Minister Mithilesh Thakur took strong exceptions to the demand, saying that there is no illegality in the liquor business and the policy was implemented after proper consideration of objections raised by the revenue department.
Answering the question raised by Saryu Roy that whether the government has reduced the target from Rs 2500 crore to Rs 2000 crore, Thakur said that the target has not been reduced but it has been decided that the shortfall in the target will be compensated by levying a penalty on the Chhattisgarh-based company
involved in the business.
As the minister replied, MLA Bhanu Pratap Shahi demanded the Constitution of an assembly committee to get the matter investigated.
Incidentally, last year the Jharkhand Government approved the new Excise Policy based on the recommendation of the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL). The government has decided to rope in Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Limited (JSBCL) as the agency. CSMCL had advised certain changes in the 1915 excise policy of Bihar that Jharkhand had incorporated.