Coal scam: Govt shifts focus on states

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Wednesday said that the states were opposed to auction of coal blocks.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG ) in its report on coal block allocation has indicted the UPA government and pointed towards lack of transparency in awarding process to private players that resulted in a loss of Rs 1.85 lakh crore to the exchequer as on March 11 last year.

The CAG report, which was tabled in Parliament on Friday, said the coal blocks were allocated to the private companies on nomination basis instead of competitive bidding. The government auditor in its report named 25 companies which got the blocks in various states.

The auditing body said it is "of strong opinion that there is a need for strict regulatory and monitoring mechanism to ensure that benefit of cheaper coal is passed on consumers". (With Agency Inputs)