Maya renewed Pontys licence ahead of polls

Excise officials admit that in Dec 2011,the BSP govt had renewed Chadhas licence

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Just before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections,which resulted in Mayawati being ousted from power,her government had renewed the wholesale licence of liquor baron Ponty Chadha for another year.

Excise officials admit that in December 2011,the BSP government had renewed Ponty Chadhas licence for 2012-13.

It was mentioned in the 2011-12 policy that the renewal for 2012-13 will be done early as the elections would take place in 2012. With the announcement of the Assembly elections,things would have been delayed because of the model code of conduct, said UP Excise Commissioner Mahesh Gupta.

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Several other excise officials also confirmed that Ponty Chadhas license has been renewed for 2012-13.

Ponty Chadha reportedly received favours from the Mayawati government. However,excise officials deny this.

There was nothing wrong in the policy. Everything was done in a totally transparent manner. It was open for other parties and there were three applicants. Ponty Chadha got the license through a lottery, said Gupta.

Those in the business of selling liquor have slammed the previous government for allegedly favouring Ponty Chadha.

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Meanwhile,there are reports that the Chief Ministers secretariat on Thursday summoned all files pertaining to Ponty Chadhas business empire.

The excise departments receipt up to January 2012 is Rs 6608.20 crore as compared to Rs 5169.39 crore of last year,registering a growth of Rs 14,738.81 crore an increase of 27.8 per cent.

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