Coalgate: Public Accounts Committee to examine joint secretary-level officers from various ministries

NEW DELHI: The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament will examine joint secretary-level officers from ministries of coal, environment, steel and power on Friday as it evaluates the report on coal block allocations in the presence of CAG Vinod Rai.

According to a PAC member, officials from CAG will brief members on how the allocation of coal blocks was audited and the extent of the loss computed. "Other ministry officials have been summoned because of the inter-ministerial nature of factors to be taken into account when coal blocks were allocated," said a member.

Surprisingly, members have also been sent nearly 450 news clippings on the coal allocation scam and the CAG report on the same in two tranches. "We've never received so many news clippings just before we take up the matter," said a member.

Both opposition and treasury bench members of the PAC are under no illusion that the committee's examination of the CAG report on the coal allocation issue will run smooth. Deep political divides had ruptured the previous PAC when it examined the 2G spectrum allocation issue, and Congress members had wanted to submit a dissenting note to the report finalised by BJP leader and PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi. The 2G report is now with the Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar with its status undetermined. This time round too, Congress members said they would try and prevent, "BJP and opposition members from running PAC like their fiefdom".