India loses billions in coal scandal

NEW DELHI - The Associated Press

People carry baskets of coal scavenged illegally at an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in eastern India. AP photo

India’s national auditor has said the government lost huge sums of money by selling coalfields to
private companies without competitive bidding.

A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General tabled in Parliament on Aug. 17 revealed that 142 coal fields were sold since July 2004 to private and state-run companies.

The report estimated that the private companies got a windfall profit of $34 billion because of the low prices they paid for the fields. The report said an auction would have given the government some of that money. The auditors said the allocations lacked transparency and were made on the recommendation of state governments.