New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the central government to file an affidavit, along with supporting material, explaining the procedure and methodology that was adopted for the allocation of 164 coal blocks.
The status report submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI in its probe into the coal scam highlights the alleged lack of transparency and inadequate documentation in the coal allocation process. In the report, the CBI said the procedure adopted by the coal ministry and the screening committee for allocation of the coal blocks was arbitrary.
The CBI in its report, extracts of which were read in the court, said there was no material about the decision-making process and the minutes were either not maintained or were sketchy. Here are the highlights of the CBI's status report:
- There has been no system in place to verify the facts
- The lack of transparency in allocation continues
- A point-based system was touched upon in 2006. But the matter was not considered further
- The detailed discussion in the screening committees not recorded in the file
- Application and feedback forms inadequately designed
- There was no system of obtaining supporting documents
- Allocation made in the absence of recommendations
- In some cases recommendations of states/authority changed in the middle