The Government has dismissed the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report estimating a Rs 1.86 lakh crore gain to private firms in the allocation of coal blocks as misplaced. Addressing a Press Conference in New Delhi, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said the policy followed by the Government was transparent and not faulty.

Jaiswal said his Ministry was not in agreement with all aspects of the CAG report. The Minister said the assessment of loss was misplaced as only one of the 57 blocks mentioned in the report were operational. He said most blocks could not be operationalised due to administrative hurdles. The allocation of coal blocks through competitive bidding will begin in the next one to three months, he added.

The Minister said during consultations with the state governments on competitive bidding, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Rajasthan had expressed their disagreement regarding the proposed changes.

The CAG had on Friday submitted three reports to Parliament on the allocation of coal blocks, Delhi IGI airport and coal supply to power projects.

In its report on the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, the CAG has said the development fees amounting to over Rs 3,415 crore by the Promotor DIAL was in contravention of the agreement and laws governing civil aviation.

In a statement, the Civil Aviation Ministry said the calculation of presumptive gain from the commercial use of land at the Delhi Airport was totally erroneous and misleading as it simply added the nominal value of the projected revenue, without taking the net present value. On the issue of lease of Airport land, the Ministry clarified that the land had not been given to DIAL on a rental basis.

The CAG in its report on Ultra Mega Power Project said that Reliance Power Limited (RPL) could have gained over Rs 29,000 crore with a net present value of Rs 11,852 crore due to the difference in tariff for the three power projects it was awarded a contract for.

Power Minister Veerappa Moily, however, said the process of allocation of coal mines for Reliance Power for its Madhya Pradesh project was transparent. He told reporters in New Delhi that there was no illegality in coal block allocation and it is an open book.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi said the CAG reports would be discussed in the Committee and the time schedule would be fixed for them.

Talking to media persons in New Delhi, he said all relevant documents would be invited from concerned ministries and departments.

Meanwhile, the BJP has demanded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the CAG report on the alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks. At a press conference in New Delhi, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj said Dr Singh was responsible for the loss because he held the portfolio of coal at the time when the bidding norms were not followed.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said by not following the competitive bidding process, the private players were allowed to have a windfall.

On the other hand, the Congress charged the BJP with adopting double standards in the allocation of coal blocks in the states run by it. Briefing reporters in New Delhi, party spokesperson Manish Tiwary said the BJP-ruled states had also not adopted the norms of competitive bidding in the allocation of coal blocks as they had objected to it. He also rejected the BJP's demand of the Prime Minister's resignation on the issue.