By IANS,
New Delhi: India’s official auditor said Tuesday that state miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) could have saved at least Rs.20 crore had it initiated prudent action against avoidable expenditure.
The Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on PSUs tabled in parliament Tuesday said owing to non-deployment of pay loaders, South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL), a CIL subsidiary, failed to gainfully use existing crushing facilities and earn an additional revenue of Rs.12.76 crore between June 2010 and May 2011.
About Western Coalfields, another CIL subsidiary, the report said, “Western Coalfileds Ltd incurred an avoidable expenditure of Rs.7.62 crore during 2007-08 to 2010-11 on purchase of electricity from two electricity boards at industrial and non-industrial rates instead of availing cheaper domestic rate for domestic consumption of electricity.”
It said in Pench and Kanhan areas of Madhya Pradesh, Western Coalfields did not have any separate metering agreement for residential colony consumption and was availing electricity at higher tariff applicable for industrial areas.
“Thus, due to non-convention of residential connections from industrial to domestic, the company has failed to avail lower electricity tariff applicable for domestic consumption and thus incurred an avoidable expenditure of Rs. 7.62 crore during 2007-08 to 2010-11.”
An earlier CAG report alleging loss to the exchequer to the tune of Rs. 186,000 crore on account of coal blocks allocations without auction to private parties has created a political furore and paralysed parliament proceedings for the tenth day.