Letters: So much for coalgate

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

Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number