CAG says Rs 3.06 lakh cr financial benefits to private firms

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Already reeling under various scams, government on Friday faced a fresh fusillade from the CAG which has estimated financial benefit of over Rs 3.06 lakh crore to private parties in coal blocks allotment without bidding, Delhi airport development and diversion of coal to a power project.

The CAG attack came when three of its reports on coal allocation, development of Delhi airport by GMR-led DIAL and ultra mega power project of Reliance Power Ltd were tabled in Parliament on Friday.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), however, brought down the estimated loss in the allocation of 142 coal blocks since July 2004 from Rs 10.7 lakh crore in the draft report to over Rs 1.85 lakh crore being the benefit to private allottees.

The CAG has estimated a potential earning capacity of Rs 1,63,557 crore to DIAL in 58 years by getting the Delhi airport land on a concessional lease. Of this, GMR-led private consortium will get Rs 88,337 crore.

The Prime Minister, who held the coal portfolio for a considerable time during the period also escaped any adverse notice of the official auditor and the blame fell on the Screening Committee consisting of officials for the allocation ‘which lacked transparency, objectivity and competition’.

The beneficiaries of coal block allocation included Essar Group, Jindal, Adani, ArcelorMittal and Tata Steel.

The Opposition was quick to capitalise on the CAG reports with BJP demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh taking ‘moral, political and personal’ responsibility for the wrongful loss due to coal block allocations.

However the Government rubbished the reports with Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal saying they were not in agreement with the CAG calculation while Minister of State in the PMO V. Narayanasamy said the auditor has not followed the Constitutional mandate.

The Ministers said the CAG reports will have to come up before the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament, which is the final arbiter on the issue.