Govt rejects CAG report on coal

New Delhi: The government on Friday rejected the CAG report estimating Rs 1.86 lakh crore gain to private firms in allocation of coal blocks and said the policy followed was transparent and not faulty.

"The policy adopted to allocate coal blocks was not faulty. There could not be a more transparent policy for allocation of coal blocks (since 2004 when no competitive bidding process was present)," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said in New Delhi.

Slamming the government for its failure to timely implement the competitive bidding mechanism for coal blocks allocation, CAG in its report said part of the Rs 1.86 lakh crore loss could have been partially accrued to the national exchequer had the procedure been put in place earlier.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said that the CAG\'s assessment was based on only a few aspects of coal allocation.

Jaiswal said his ministry was not in agreement with all aspects of the CAG report, adding the assessment done by the auditor was based on only a few aspects of coal allocation.

"We are not in agreement with the CAG calculation in its entirety", he said.

The minister said the private parties were involved in the development of coal blocks as the state-run firm Coal India was not able to meet the growing fuel needs of the country.

"Out of the 57 blocks allocated to the private parties, only one is operational," he said, adding blocks allocated to the Tatas and Jindal Steel and Power for their coal-to-liquid projects were aimed at narrowing the crude oil imports.

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