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Is PMO ignoring another scam after 2G, this time in energy?

Incidentally, in the 2G spectrum scam, the prime minister’s office did not heed Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, the prime whistleblower, till the Supreme Court intervened.

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The prime minister’s office seems to be ignoring whistleblowers.
From the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) draft report, which says that favouritism was shown to private players in oil- and gas-sharing contracts, it would appear that the government ignored the queries and concerns of EAS Sarma, a former energy secretary.

The CAG draft report has concluded that the government showed undue favours to private companies. The draft report identifies the production-sharing contract (PSC) structure for oil and gas as the problem, saying it allowed private companies such as Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Cairn to gain “undue benefit” at the government’s expense.

Incidentally, in the 2G spectrum scam, the prime minister’s office did not heed Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, the prime whistleblower, till the Supreme Court intervened.
“I have written to prime minister on this specific issue of (the pricing of natural gas from the fields licensed to RIL in the) KG Basin KG gas and the Cairn oil/gas fields several times, but not a single letter has been acknowledged,” Sarma told DNA from the USA, where he is at present.

Sarma said he wrote another letter to the PM on June 13, referring to his earlier letters on the apparent irregularities by the government in auditing the capital costs and allowing price and other concessions to RIL in KG Basin and to Cairn in Rajasthan.
The notional loss suffered by the country is still to be estimated. Sarma said the loss is “massive but as yet unquantifiable”. Incidentally, the Union ministry of oil and natural gas has ruled out any loss to exchequer on account of RIL raising the capital cost of developing the KG basin. 

The ministry is also believed to be preparing its reply to the CAG, wherein it is expected to say that some of the CAG’s observations in the draft report are not practical.

Sarma said he has sought details from the cabinet secretariat and oil ministry through an RTI Act, but has received no information even after CIC ordered the ministry to disclose the details over two months ago.

“What I read about the CAG’s findings has corroborated what I had pointed out,” Sarma told DNA. “If true, the loss to the exchequer would be enormous. Oil and gas are the country’s valuable natural resources. Unfortunately, the government has placed these resources in the hands of private agencies. By playing into their hands, the interests of the nation seem to have been compromised.”

 Sarma said the government’s silence and its refusal to reply to his RTI gives the impression that it is trying to hide facts from the people.

 “At a time when the government is engulfed in a multitude of scams and its actions have come under the scrutiny of the judiciary, the issues raised by me in the case of both Reliance and Cairn assume a great deal of public importance. The latest report of CAG needs to be considered against the overall background in which the government has done away with transparency, competitive bidding procedures, and public accountability,” he said.

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