PM takes ‘full responsibility’,says CAG report ‘flawed on many counts’

Even as opposition MPs shouted slogans and demanded his resignation,the PM read a part of his 32-point statement in the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha,and then tabled the document in the houses as pandemonium continued. Singh even recited an Urdu couplet to buttress his claim that there was no irregularity in coal blocks allocation,contrary to claims by the CAG.

Taking “full responsibility” for decisions to allocate coal mines to 142 private parties to meet the energy needs of the country,Singh observed “the policy of allocation of coal blocks to private parties,which the CAG has criticised,was not a new policy introduced by the UPA”. The policy,he said,existed since 1993 and previous governments also allocated coal blocks in the same manner that has now been criticised by the CAG.

On the CAG’s “implicit” suggestion that the government should have circumvented the legislative process through administrative instructions,overriding the objections of several state governments including those ruled by opposition parties,the Prime Minister said “if implemented (it) would have been undemocratic and contrary to the spirit of the functioning of our federal polity”.

“Major coal and lignite bearing states like West Bengal,Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand,Orissa and Rajasthan that were ruled by opposition parties were strongly opposed to a switch over to the process of competitive bidding as they felt that it would increase the cost of coal,adversely impacted value addition and development of industries in their areas and would dilute their prerogative in the selection of lessees,” Singh said in the Lok Sabha.

Disputing the CAG’s charge of revenue loss to the government,Singh said that the calculation of notional benefits to private companies by the CAG,based on the average production costs and sale price of state-owned Coal India Ltd,could be “questioned on a number of technical points”. Plus,a part of the gains would,in any case,get appropriated by the government through taxation as 26 per cent of the profits from the coal mining operations would have to be made available for local area development,as envisaged under the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulations) 2011 Bill,he said.