Coal news and updates

Birla coal deal was transparent, says former CAG Vinod Rai

The man who first said that the country had lost Rs. 1.86 lakh crores because the government handed out coal licenses at under-priced rates found no irregularities in the allocation of two coal blocks to a firm owned by Kumar Mangalam Birla, said Vinod Rai, the former national auditor. Speaking to NDTV, he said his team had studied the case and concluded that "the deal is totally transparent.''

The CBI has said that a criminal conspiracy was engineered in 2005  by Mr Birla and the government's former coal secretary, PC Parkah, to ensure that the coal blocks in Odisha were given to Hindalco, an aluminium-making firm owned by the industrialist.

Four days ago, the Prime Minister's Office accepted that the decision had been sanctioned by Dr Manmohan Singh who held direct charge of the Coal Ministry at the time.  A statement from his office described the deal as "entirely appropriate." Sources in the CAG which hailed accused and former coal secretary PC Parakh as a 'whistleblower' said that the coal secretary had explained why he changed his mind on the Hindalco allocation and it will all become clear once PMO hands over all files

As the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Mr Rai 's report on an alleged coal scam in 2012 armed the opposition with a campaign demanding the Prime Minister's resignation. The BJP reiterated that the PM cannot escape accountability after the CBI filed a First Information Report or FIR last week in Mr Birla's case. But sources close to Mr Rai say that he examined the allocation of coal blocks to Mr Birla's firm and found it to be "transparent."

The CBI has asked the Prime Minister's Office to submit all documents relevant to Mr Birla's case.  Among the records it wants to examine is a letter sent by Odisha Chief minister Naveen Patnaik which supported Mr Birla's firm.

The Prime Minister's office has said that endorsement played a huge role in Hindalco being allowed to mine the two coal blocks along with a state-run firm.

Source:NDTV