The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): The Congress party recently accused the government of manipulating coal auction rules to benefit specific industrialists, leading to substantial revenue losses. This allegation was supported by reports from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Congress leader Pawan Khera highlighted this issue in a press conference in Delhi, showcasing letters from BJP leaders R.K. Singh and Rajeev Chandrasekhar from 2015. These letters, written before they became ministers, expressed concerns over the coal auctions that allowed only a couple of related companies to bid. This limitation, they argued, resulted in cartelization and a loss of government revenue.
Further, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh accused the Modi government of rigging coal auctions since 2014, specifically to benefit the Adani Group. In a detailed social media post, Ramesh criticized the government’s ‘White Paper’ on the 2014 ‘Coalgate’ scam, suggesting that the real fraud occurred over the last decade. He claimed that the government, ignoring its own members’ warnings, allocated lucrative coal mines to its major donor at minimal costs, significantly impacting the public treasury.
Ramesh elaborated that the Modi administration used a ‘limited tender’ approach in the auctions, which restricted each coal block to a single type of coal usage. This restriction reduced the competition for each block, leading to lower prices and substantial losses to the public exchequer. He referenced two BJP MPs, who are now Union ministers, who had previously raised concerns about this method potentially leading to cartel formation and undervaluation, which would harm the public finances. These warnings seemed prophetic as both the coal minister and the CAG later acknowledged that at least 15 coal blocks experienced cartelization, resulting in revenue losses.
Khera further questioned why Prime Minister Modi disregarded the concerns raised by BJP leaders about corruption and rigging in the coal auctions. He outlined the timeline of events, noting that the Modi government established a new policy for coal auction and allocation in 2015, covering over 200 coal blocks with more than 41 billion tonnes of coal. Despite internal opposition from within the BJP, the policy proceeded. However, a 2016 CAG report presented to Parliament reportedly confirmed the dubious nature of these coal auctions.
The Congress party is now calling for a thorough investigation into these allegations, including a potential probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to uncover the extent of the collusion and corruption in the coal auction process.
