The Power Minister, Mr Sushilkumar Shinde, today said he was not aware of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report that has reportedly pegged a Rs 10.7-lakh crore loss to the exchequer due to coal allocations between 2004 and 2009.
“I am not aware about the report,” Mr Shinde told presspersons here in response to a query on the draft CAG report.
According to a media report, CAG has said allocation of 155 coal acreages between 2004 and 2009 to about 100 firms, resulted in a notional loss of Rs 10.7 lakh crore to the exchequer.
The report comes against the backdrop of many sectors, primarily power, grappling with acute coal shortage.
Commenting on the issue, NTPC — one of the entities that was allotted coal mines during the 2004-09 period — said it has not reaped any windfall profits.
“There is no way by which NTPC can make windfall profit out of the coal produced from these mines as under the CERC regulated regime the cost of coal from these mines will be pass-through in the power tariff...
“Therefore, it will only help to reduce the ultimate cost of power for the end-user,” NTPC Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Arup Roy Choudhury, said.