Chandigarh: Liquor contractors seek ED, CBI probe into tender process
Darshan Singh Kler, president of the association, said the UT Excise Policy 2025-26 clearly mentioned that only 10 vends could be allotted to a single firm or company but in the recently held auction, the UT excise and taxation department had allotted 33 vends to a single family
The Chandigarh Wine Contractor Association has demanded an inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation in the recently concluded liquor vend tender and allotment process in the city.
Alleging that certain businessmen planned to monopolise/cartelise the liquor business in Chandigarh, they association members demanded that the source of their money be investigated.
Addressing mediapersons on Thursday, Darshan Singh Kler, president of the association, said the UT Excise Policy 2025-26 clearly mentioned that only 10 vends could be allotted to a single firm or company. But in the recently held auction, the UT excise and taxation department had allotted 33 vends to a single family, where an individual got eight vends, his wife nine vends and their son seven vends. Apart from this, nine vends were allotted to another company where the same individual was the director, he added.
Further, 87 out of the total 96 vends auctioned by the department were allotted to just two or three individuals operating under different firms or through their relatives, associates and their employees, he alleged.
Kler claimed that the earnest money deposited by applicants was returned immediately to them while no security amount was deposited by the successful allottees. Whereas it was a general practice that the earnest money was not refunded to applicants until the security amount was deposited by successful allottees, which raised the question as to why there was such a hurry to allot liquor vends to certain individuals, he added.
The role of the assistant excise and taxation commissioner and some other officers was in question as the tender and allotment process violated the Excise Policy 2025-26 and the Competition Act 2002, leading to cartelisation of the liquor trade, he alleged.
The department has already denied allegations of “cartelisation”, claiming that these are misconceived and unfounded. Bidding process has been done in a transparent manner by following due process of law. The petitioners have no locus to challenge the allotment as they are current vends holders. Having participated in the auction process, they could not have challenged it now, the department has stated in its response before the Punjab and Haryana high court after the liquor contractors challenged the allotment process.
Their plea is triggered to response of losing the business for which auction was done and highest bidders were declared successful, the department has argued.
