The Planning Commission may soon feel the heat of the alleged coal block allocation scam, as the parliamentary standing committee on finance has asked the plan body why its role should not be brought under the scanner.
Sources revealed that senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha-led parliamentary panel has sent a communication to deputy chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia asking the panel to submit its reply on the issue within 10 days.
“At a recent meeting of the standing committee, where matters relating to Budget were to be discussed, members raised the issue of coal block allocations scam, which came to light after a preliminary report of CAG was reported in the section of media,” sources said. Reportedly the total loss to public exchequer amounted to a whopping `10,67,000 crores.
Given the fact that there does not exist any economic sector on which Planning Commission does not give its view, members at the meeting of the standing committee expressed views that the plan body’s role should also be probed, sources said. “Following this Mr Sinha wrote a communication the Plan Panel asking it to respond to queries relating to coal block allocation in 10 days time,” they added.