Ministers to seek explanation from officers for shortfall

CHANDIGARH: A day after Punjab ministers and state’s top officers, including chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh, indulged in a showdown over excise policy in a precabinet meet on Saturday, the ministers have decided to seek an explanation from excise officials for revenue shortfall.

The issue will be raised with chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh at a cabinet meeting on Monday. This meeting had been deferred after Saturday’s face-off. The department is under the CM.

There was a revenue shortfall of around Rs 1,000 crore at the end of 2018-19 fiscal. Last fiscal that ended on March 31, the shortfall was around Rs 650 crore.

HT has learnt that the ministers would also oppose compensating liquor contractors for the lockdown, imposed from March 23, with vends remaining shut for 45 days, nine in 2019-20 and 36 this fiscal.“There is no justification to extend the current financial year into 2021-22 as it would spoil the entire revenue generation calendar. The idea of compensating contractors by giving them more time in the next year is not good,” said technical education minister Charanjeet Singh Channi.

Finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal has also opposed this proposal. The department has also proposed to compensate contractors by reducing revenue targets by 10%, in proportion with the 36 days lost this fiscal. This will mean the state foregoing Rs 620 crore, as the target for the year was Rs 6,200 crore.

“The loss this year is huge. Of 750 liquor groups opened for sale, only 500 were sold, with the rest 30% unsold. Who will compensate for this loss which runs into Rs 2,000 crore,” questioned Channi.

“The excise department wants the cabinet to give clearance to compensate contractors for 45 days. Why were the stocks not sealed when lockdown was imposed on March 23? There are the reports that contractors have liquidated their stocks during the lockdown,” said cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Radhawa.

MINISTERS WANT CHIEF SECY TO APOLOGISE

The ministers have taken a serious view of chief secretary’s comments on Saturday and would seek an apology from him. He did not initially come for face-to-face meeting, and he turned up for it on the insistence of ministers. The ministers have also objected to this. “This shows he’s very arrogant and wants to prevail upon elected representatives. We want him to tender an apology,” said a minister.