
Delhi govt forms committees to draft new excise and electric vehicle policies
These committees will submit their reports to chief minister Rekha Gupta.
The committee formed to create the excise policy will be headed by PWD minister Parvesh Verma, while the one on the EV policy will be chaired by home minister Ashish Sood. All other ministers in Gupta's cabinet will be members of both committees. The decision to form the panels was made in the cabinet meeting held last Tuesday, but the information was shared by the govt only this Monday.
"Our govt is dedicated to the people of Delhi and is continuously making decisions in the public interest," CM Rekha Gupta said.
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Delhi govt is continuing with the old excise policy, which was in place until Nov 2021 when the then AAP govt replaced it with the now-withdrawn Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. The old policy was re-implemented on Sept 1, 2022, with an important change of handing the retail liquor business completely to the govt corporations, with no role for private players.
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The policy has been extended several times, the latest being on July 1 for nine months until the end of the 2025-26 financial year.
Gupta earlier formed a committee under the chairmanship of chief secretary Dharmendra to deliberate upon various aspects of the liquor business in Delhi and even prepared a draft of the new policy. However, the govt decided to deliberate more on the issue and postponed the announcement of a new policy by nine months.
Delhi govt also extended the current Electric Vehicle Policy until March 31, 2026, or until a new one is officially notified, whichever comes first, a few days ago. The extension was approved in a cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister. Officials said the govt wanted more time to conduct public consultations before rolling out a revised, future-ready policy. The draft of the new policy is still under discussion and will involve inputs from citizens, industry players, environmental experts, academic institutions, and private stakeholders.
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