New Delhi: In a new twist in the coal allocations row, former coal secretary PC Parakh has revealed how his proposal for auction of coal blocks was thwarted by politicians and the industry alike. While not blaming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh fully for the allocations of coal blocks instead of auctioning them, Parakh, in an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN, said that the PM could have thrown his weight behind the bidding process.
"This is about the files in the Coal Ministry. When I joined in 2004 as the coal secretary, I had proposed the process of bidding. My minister at the time, Shibhu Soren, was not keen enough. But after the PM took over as coal minister, I had a meeting with him and he was very keen," Parakh said.
He continued, "I got a Cabinet note prepared after getting his clearance. Some ministries, however, were not in favour of the auction process. I had wanted a meeting of all Cabinet secretaries but the meeting didn't happen... I retired.."
"My view is that neither the political system nor the industry was really keen on bidding. When you can get it for free, why pay for it," he said....
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04:48 PM, Jun 09, 2012
