Apropos the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on coal blocks, it needs to be understood that a bulk of the coal being produced is used by the power sector and about 80 per cent of coal-fired power is generated by public sector companies and state electricity boards. At increased coal prices – an inevitable result of competitive bidding – power generation costs would have gone up. Is the CAG justified in raising the alarm over loss to the exchequer given that a major part of the coal being produced goes to public utilities that are striving to provide reasonably-priced power to homes, railways (again a public utility) and industry? There has been a pattern in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led opposition since the 1977 elections to make allegations a year or two ahead of elections. The CAG seems to have come in handy for this purpose.
K L Kaul New Delhi
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