Initially CAG estimated the loss to the extent of 10.8 lac crores but the beneficiaries included Coal India Ltd, the sole excavator of coal till recently which is a PSU. Since the minstry felt that awarding of largesse to a state enterprise need not be loss of revenue, CAG scaled down this estimate to 1.81 lac crores and has listed Tatas, Reliance among others as the intended beneficiaries. There is no charge of quid pro quo and yet the news made headlines. When you decide to privatise coal mining, you can not have a set of rule for PSU and private sector. If PSU Coal India is entitled to concessions, so are the private players. CAG's presumptive loss takes a beating. Like in 2G where those who were awarded licences did not roll out services, here also many blocks were not opened for mining. That shows the scant regard for the precious fuel required for Power generation required by private players. 

Again the CAG has estimated the yield at uniform rates regardless of method of mining and also estimated the cost of coal to be mined at the selling price of Coal India. Who will bear the cost of mining? Moreover all are captive mines and they can not sell the coal in the open market. What is the logic of loss here?

If at all there has been questinable decisions, it is the additional allocation of coal block to Reliance Power and also permission to use coal from one captive mine of a particular Sasan project to another project.These need to be explained by the ministry.

Tatas were having captive mines in the erstwhile Bihar state for their steel plant from British raj days at a lease rental of Rs.100/ which Lalu Yadav sought to annul when he was in power. People made fun of him. What about the vast tracts of land acquired by software firms such as Infosys at throw away prices? Devegowda was ridiculed for questioning the rationale.

The Prime Minister who was lording over the Coal ministry, is as usual silent leaving the job of defending him to his party and his colleagues. What is a leader if he is not able to defend his right to formulate policies in national interest while babus like CAG question the wisdom. If the argument of CAG is to be accepted, we can as well disband the parliamentary form of governanace and instead allow India to be ruled by Babus. 

Another argument is that by working out the reserve price at Rs.14000 Crores for 2G spectrum in the impending auction, the Government has upheld the contentious valuation of CAG. the Government was spineless in the wake of mounting unfair criticism. It needed political will to fix a reasonable reserve price. The Industry was aghast at the TRAI determined price of Rs.18K crore. The same TRAI said the price need not be tweaked in 2007. The Industry wanted the price to be lowered by 80%. TRAI countered the claims. When the Government is fighting the battle to restore the right of formulating policies through a presidential referendum, it could have with held the pricing till the issue is settled. Sharad Pawar declined to head the EGom and the PM found a scape goat in P Chidambaram who was already facing the heat in the alleged complicity in the earlier auction. At least PC had the guts to lower the price of TRAI.

You know the reserve price is 6 times as much the bidders paid for the much advanced 4G spectrum?

Policy paralysis is invented by Babus for babus and of the Babus.