Coal loss Rs 1.86L cr, Delhi airport 24K cr, power 29K cr: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) reports on allocation of coal blocks without bidding and the Delhi airport concession given to GMR and power projects was tabled in Parliament on Friday.

The CAG report on allocation of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009 without auction has pegged the value of ‘undue benefits’ has caused an overall loss of over Rs 10 lakh crore.

The report says that 44 billion tonnes of coal was given away at throw-away prices, while 194 coal blacks were allocated on mere recommendations.

Importantly, as against the draft report, the final CAG report was silent on the role played by Prime Minister’s Office in allocation of coal.

The major beneficiaries included Tata Group entities, Jindal Steel & Power, Anil Agarwal Group firms, Essar Group's power ventures, Adani Group, Arcelor Mittal and Lanco.

Delhi airport

The CAG report on public-private partnership for the Indira Gandhi International Airport had reportedly said that Delhi International Airport (DIAL), which runs the utility, has a potential to earn Rs 1,63,557 crore over a 60-year period from the land given to it on a lease rent of Rs 100 per annum, hurting the interest of the government.

The report pointed out that 239 acres of land for construction of the terminal was given away to GMR Group owned Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on lease as against the market rate of Rs 24000 crore rupees.

Also, even after getting land at such low rates, DIAL was charging User Development Fee from passengers using the airport. The CAG said that the company has made over Rs 3400 crore by way of UDF and that the clause allowing DIAL to charge UDF was not in the initial agreement but was later introduced by the civil aviation ministry.

Power

The CAG also raised questions on some power projects in the country. On the Sasan Power Project of Reliance Power, the auditor said that differential tariff has led to a gain of Rs 29000 crore for the company.

CAG said bidding process was vitiated by allowing Reliance Power to use excess coal from three blocks allocated to Sasan project. (ZEE)