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Coal auction to get Rs 3.45L cr; Rs 36k cr saving via DBT: Govt

Auction of coal blocks being done will bring Rs 3.45 lakh crore to the nation's kitty and Rs 36,500 crore would be saved on account of checking leakages through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG subsidy, the government said today.

"Previous 2G auction enriched select few while current spectrum auction fetched Rs 1.09 lakh crore for the nation. Previous coal auction steeped in corruption. Now coal auction to bring Rs 3.45 lakh crore," according to the government which is publicising its work of two years.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had, in a report tabled in Parliament in 2012, pegged the notional loss to the national exchequer at Rs 1.86 lakh crore on account of improper allocation of coal mines done by the UPA government. Investigating agencies like Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate are looking into the alleged irregularities in coal mines and second generation spectrum allocation that claimed to have caused loss worth several crores to the government exchequer.

The government said over Rs 36,500 crore have been saved by eliminating bogus beneficiaries and leakages through DBT scheme. The DBT programme, a major reform initiative to check leakages of welfare funds, was launched on January 1, 2013. It has since then been universalised to cover all central sector and centrally-sponsored schemes, where cash benefits are transferred to individual beneficiaries.

 The government said significant progress is being made against black money and stringent action is being taken. It has unearthed tax evasion of Rs 50,000 crore of indirect taxes--comprising service tax, excise and customs duty and "yielded undisclosed income of Rs 21,000 crore". In the advertisement titled 'abki baar, mita bhrastachar' (this time, corruption removed), the government highlighted "historic improvement in India's ranking in Transparency International corruption index" without mentioning the rank.

Source: Moneycontrol