PAC asks CoalMin for documents on block allocation

A Parliamentary panel has asked the coal ministry to furnish all documents pertaining to allocations of coal blocks by September 14 before it begins scrutinising the audit report on coal

A Parliamentary panel has asked the coal ministry to furnish all documents pertaining to allocations of coal blocks by September 14 before it begins scrutinising the audit report on coal.

The Public Accounts Committee headed by BJP MP Murli Manohar Joshi has the statutory right to examine all reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Usually it confines itself to an examination of the audit reports but in the case of coal has decided to include the background papers too in the wake of the political storm unleashed by it.

We have received a communication from the PAC asking for all the details of allocations of coal blocks. We intend to furnish all information by September 14, a senior coal ministry official told The Indian Express.

Given the voluminous nature of information required,the PAC may not be able to commence its scrutiny before a month,he added. Since all the relevant documents will have to be circulated to all the members,this too will take time.

We will need details from CAG and the concerned ministries before we actually start working on the new agendas8230;it will take up to a month before the relevant documents are ready to be circulated to the members, a member of the committee said.

Other CAG reports that will be examined by the parliamentary body include the Delhi International Airport Ltd,Ultra Mega Power Plants and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board AERB. All these reports have been tabled in the ongoing session of the Parliament. The PAC is likely to seek additional information from the CAG on these issues too.

The government has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the allocations of 57 coal blocks between 2004-2009. It has dismissed the contention of the national auditor that the private companies benefited to the tune of Rs 1.86 lakh crore arguing that of the 57 mines referred by the CAG,only one is operational.

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Defending the government,finance minister P Chidambaram had countered the auditors observations saying that if the allocated coal has not been mined and utilised,there cannot be any losses computed on the basis of Coal Indias prices.

The CAG has also slammed the government for giving over Delhi airport and its land with a potential earning capacity of Rs 1,63,557 crore to the operator DIAL which made a total equity contribution of Rs 2,450 crore.

On the AERB,the auditor has questioned the delay in granting legal status to the Board as several countries had conferred such status to their nuclear regulators.