Cong will place facts before people on coal issue:Narayansami

Criticising the BJP for the washout of the Monsoon session of Parliament, government today said the Congress was placing the facts before the people to judge on the coal allocation issue.

"The BJP is resorting to mudslinging for political advantage which is detrimental for the nation’s development, for which the Congress has decided to bring the facts and figures before the people to judge," Union Minister of State in the PMO, V Narayansami told reporters here.

Accusing the BJP of doublespeak, he said the opposition forced adjournment of Parliament for 13 days on the allocation of coal blocks causing huge loss to the exchequer by avoiding discussion on the issue as it would have exposed their "wrong doings".

The opposition was making the coal block allocation a political issue keeping in view the assembly elections due in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the minister said. The Prime Minister has constituted an inter-ministerial group headed by additional secretary in coal ministry Zohra Chatterjee to find lapses in the allotment and recommend steps and the report was awaited, he said.

Action would be taken against any wrong doing and allotment cancelled if required, he said at the press meet at which AICC general secretary Dhaniram Shandil and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, were also present.

Noting that 39 blocks were allotted by the NDA government from 1999 to 2004 "without following any guideline" and 59 blocks by UPA during 2004 to 2008, he asked why the BJP was not demanding cancellation of 39 blocks allocated during the NDA regime or resignation of chief ministers of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan besides Odisha.

As there was no guideline for allocation of coal blocks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wanted to regularise its allocation through auction and proposed amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, which was strongly opposed by Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, Narayansami said.

He produced copies of letters of the then chief ministers of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje, Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Jharkhand Arjun Munda, Odisha Naveen Patnaik and West Bengal chief secretary.

He said a screening committee comprising chief secretaries of coal-bearing states and officials of the union coal ministry were formed to allocate coal blocks at a cheaper rate to private companies like Jindal, Tata, and Reliance besides PSUs on condition of supplying electricity at reasonable rates.

"The screening committee allotted blocks on the basis of recommendation by the state governments which are on record," he said. "When the country is facing power shortage, the Prime Minister thought of this prudent step to be taken in consultation with the state governments in the larger interest of the people," Narayansami said.
"Where is the loss?" he questioned on the misgivings created by the BJP on the presumptive loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore estimated by CAG.

Pending amendment to the Act, the coal blocks were allotted by the screening committee in a transparent manner to overcome power crisis besides producing cement and steel, he said.

He said the CAG was a constitutional body which submitted its report to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament headed by a senior opposition leader, whose final report was binding on the government. "But, the BJP politicised the CAG report even before the submission of report by the PAC."

Coal extraction takes a minimum three to five years because of various procedures including environment and forest clearance, he said, adding investors had invested Rs 15 lakh crore.