-The Hindu “I seek the indulgence of the House… 3. …I want to assure Hon’ble Members that as the Minister in charge [for a part of the time covered by the report], I take full responsibility for the decisions of the Ministry. I wish to say that any allegations of impropriety are without basis and unsupported by the facts. 10. The observations of the CAG are clearly disputable. 11. The policy of allocation of...
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Political expedience should not override norms of democracy
-The Economic Times The disruption of Parliament over coal raises four issues. The first is the BJP not allowing a debate to take place on the so-called coal scam. The second is the machinations in coal and the Comptroller and Auditor General's estimate of loss and gain. The third is the CAG suggesting that the government should have overridden the objections of state governments to the Centre's proposal to hold auctions for...
More »Fix responsibility, don't nitpick, says CAG official-Shalini Singh
-The Hindu Real intent of auditor’s work is to end crony capitalism On a day Parliament was forced to shut down over Opposition calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the wake of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s incriminating report on coal blocks allocation, the CAG itself held firm against increasingly ferocious attacks by the United Progressive Alliance. An official close to the CAG and the preparation of the controversial...
More »Government ready for coalgate confrontation -Sujay Mehdudia
-The Hindu Even as UPA-II and the Opposition are bracing themselves for confrontation in and outside Parliament over coal blocks allocations during 2004-09, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Coal Ministry are ready with their defence: the policy imperative was to augment production by supplementing Coal India’s efforts with private participation within the parameters of law. According to documents available with The Hindu , the arguments, which the government hopes to present...
More »The coal allocation mess
-Live Mint The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the allotment of captive coal mines is a scathing narrative on the mis-governance and mismanagement of the country’s natural resources. As early as 2004, the government realized that the then prevailing system of allotment of mines was not transparent. An internal debate kicked off with the coal secretary pushing for a 28 June 2004 deadline for reforms in the...
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