Defending the coal allocations between 2005 and 2009 without competitive bidding, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said that the method adopted was "transparent".
Addressing a press conference after placing of the CAG report in Parliament, Jaiswal said the auction route was not chosen as there were conflicting opinions from the Law Ministry in 2006.
Besides, there was strong opposition from Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and West Bengal, then ruled by the BJP and the Left, against competitive bidding, he said. These states had said this would result in increase in coal and power prices.
"The three governments said the existing system of allocation should not get changed at any cost... In the federal structure, we have to respect the opinions of state governments," the Coal Minister said.
He said the allocation process "was totally transparent, policy was entirely correct... If there is any irregularity, that is being investigated by the CBI".
About the estimated Rs 1.86 lakh crore likely gain to be made by the private parties, he said "This is notional. I am not here to challenge any authority. Their (CAG's) work is to conduct audit, government's work is to make policies and take decisions while taking care of people of the country."
The CAG report said that part of the money, from the 57 blocks allocated to the private sector, could have accrued to the national exchequer had the procedure of competitive bidding was put in place earlier.
"We are not in agreement with the CAG calculation in its entirety... When blocks are not operative,it is not a right idea to do calculation; it is faulty", he said.
