PM rejects CAG report, take full responsibility for the coal mines allocation

New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday led the counterattack on BJP but took full responsibility for the controversial allocations of coal mines, saying CAG’s  criticism of the government for not speedily switching to auctions for allocation of mines failed to account for a federal polity like India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday took full responsibility for the controversial allocations of coal mines and took on the CAG, disputing the auditor’s estimate of undue gains to private players from Coalgate and saying its criticism of the government for not speedily switching to auctions for allocation of mines failed to account for a federal polity like India.
Singh was forced to table his 32-point statement in both houses of Parliament as the BJP members did not allow him to speak.
The PM also said that the allegations were “without basis and unsupported by the facts”. New Delhi

The CAG report noted that the department of legal affairs held in 2006 that the government could have switched to the auction route by an administrative measure. Singh dismissed the argument. “In a democracy, it is difficult to accept the notion that a decision to seek legislative amendment to implement a change in policy should come for adverse audit scrutiny,” he said.

“The issue was contentious and the proposed change to competitive bidding required consensus building among various stakeholders with divergent views, which is inherent in the legislative process,” he further said.

For most part, the PM treaded the ground his colleagues have covered since the CAG report came out on August 17. He stressed that it was the UPA government “which conceived the idea of making allocations through the competitive bidding route in June 2004”, arguing that the change could not be effected because of resistance from opposition-ruled states, ministry of power and the note of caution struck by Parliament’s standing committee.

Singh further contended that the process of allocation was not as arbitrary as has been made out as applications were assessed on parameters ranging from techno-economic feasibility to preparedness to set up end-use project, recommendations of state governments etc.