"Every thing should go by the law. Action should not be taken because there is a political demand (for it)," said CII President Adi Godrej
The Government should not cancel the allocation of coal blocks that are under the scanner after CAG report just because there is a “political” demand to do so, Industry body CII said on Friday.
“Every thing should go by the law. Action (cancellation of coal blocks) should not be taken because there is a political demand (for it),” CII President Adi Godrej told reporters here.
Reiterating his stand that there is no need to cancel all the coal licences as being demanded by the principal Opposition BJP, Godrej said the Government can’t unilaterally take such a decision without giving out details.
Action should be taken if there are clear signs that law has been violated, he said.
CAG has said the Government suffered a presumptive loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore in coal block allocations during 2004—2008, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held the coal portfolio.
This has led to a washout of the Monsoon Session of Parliament as BJP has been demanding PM’s resignation, besides the cancellation of all the coal blocks allocated.
Expressing concern on the state of the economy, Godrej said there is a crying need to revive growth by taking forward the much-awaited reform process.
“Growth can be revived because there are no structural issues. The current slowdown is a cyclical problem that can be tackled through policy initiatives,” he said.
Refusing to comment on a recent article in US daily `Washington Post’, which has made critical comments about the performance of Prime Minister, the noted industrialist said however that there is a need to improve perception about India.
Keywords: Coal scam, coal block allocation, CAG report, UPA government, coalgate, Coal India Ltd, Adi Godrej, CII
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Diplomatic post bag from 1966 Indian plane crash found on Mont Blanc
A bag of Indian diplomatic mail is set to be delivered more than 46 years late after it was found on Mont Blanc in the French Alps, close to where an Air India plane crashed in January 1966.
The jute bag, stamped "Diplomatic mail" and "Ministry of External Affairs", was recovered by mountain rescue worker Arnaud Christmann and his neighbour Jules Berger on August 21.
The Indian embassy in Paris said it was looking forward to receiving the "very late mail".
"Some tourists came and told us they had seen something shining on the Bossons glacier," so he and his neighbour decided to go have a look, said Mr Christmann.
"We found pieces of the cabin, a shoe, cables – it's a real dump up there!"
The two men also came across a plane wheel and, 20 yards further on, the diplomatic bag that was "sitting as if someone had just placed.
all blocks must be cancelled as per law as they not started
work in given time
Where was this CII when corrupt regime was siphoning away wealth of Nation? Like 2G, why not cancel all coal block allocations and commence afresh with a clean slate. CII too should own the responsibility for the mess in the country as most of the CII fraternity indulge in corrupt practices for quid-pro-quo. Somewhere I saw in papers that CII made comments on CAG too!! In order to to have a fresh start, it is acceptable, if it means discomfort to few CII fraternity. Nation should come first. Honor the Nation, not corrupt.
Corruption cannot be defended in name of maintaining sentiment. Let the economy collapse or go back to pre 1991 if that helps in wiping out corruption. Because any growth parallel with corruption will imply unequal distribution of wealth & increasing rich-poor gap. It will be cancerous growth at best. If you have cancer in your left hand & doctor advises to surgically chop it off will you consider your sentiment for your left hand & let cancer spread??? If destruction is necessary before new construction then let it be. That's why Shiva (the destroyer) exists parallely with Brahma (the creator).
Ideally the licenses whould be cancelled as they were awareded based on bidding or other rightful way.
However it affects the sentiments of business community. The government need to amend the wrong-doing it has done. Negative sentiment should not be make an excuse to promote or carry on with the mistakes done in the past.
Here is a sane voice from the corporate world. Is the BJP listening?
Or it wants to destroy the progress made by the country by maintaining a ostrich like attitude calling for the head of our Prime Minister in the same manner as Shylock insisting on his pound of flesh in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. Some one is required to tell the enlightened BJP to take the pound of flesh without blood being spilled! Coal mining and the the gestation period required besides the plethora of clearances required to make a start should not lost sight of. Let only those who have taken the coal blocks in a speculative mode with an eye to make a quick buck on appreciation should be taken to task and not the genuine investors.
CII President makes a very valid point. Arbitrary changes to allocations in midstream will surely discourage businesses. But good businesses prefer a level playing field. When coal blocks are allocated to some companies without giving an equal opportunity for all Indian companies, where is the due process? Were the problems with land availability, security, and access to the blocks unknown to the companies before they received the allotments? Would these companies enter into deals in foreign countries without investigating such issues? If there were auction of coal blocks, would other companies have been interested in bidding even if only 60% is available after taxes?
Dear Adi (I am not sure I can call you that, but admire your quote),
Can you, through CII and other bodies unite your voice of rejection with
convincing facts ? You need to also talk to opposition (meaning BJP,
which has a stake) & like. When can Chambers of Commerce of various
States etc. effectively & factually rebut such propaganda ? I think,
you have not been able to conceive and inject right kind of agenda. Or,
is it that as companies, you did something because you have a stake,
like Ambani's.
Whose sentiment Mr Godrej is talking about?? Definitely not that of foreign investors who have been looking for a clean government with easy to do business procedures. Only Indian corporates who want to get the allocations for a price and park them to be sold at a very high premium at a later date like what his predecessors like Birlas used to do in License-permit Raj. Even if the corruption based are cancelled, it won't affect the investment climate.
Mr Godrej, is the business sentiment of today is important or the preservation of norms and procedures when the national wealth is at stake? As an industrialist it is in your interest to have a Government and buereaucracy above corruption and nepotism. If to set right the mistakes of few, the nation suffers a bit, so be it; at least this will not be repeated so that your 'business sentiments' will not be disturbed in the future. The contribution of the business houses to 2G, Commonwealth Games and Coalgate scams is substantial both by omission and commission.
You should be reminded of the Sanskrit saying ' To save a family, one member can be sacrificied, to save a village a family can be sacrificed, to save a town a village can be sacrificed, to save a country a town can be sacrificed'.
In this case, to save the country few business houses, politicians and buereaucrats can be sacrificied.
So Mr Godrej, take it in the chin and don't complain.
The CII President must understand that it is the captains of Industry that contribute to bribes etc., and hence the CII President is not willing to let go because of the bribes that were given. The confidence of the people and those of the business people abroad look at the coal-gate and want something tangible to happen. Why not cancel the coal blocks that were given based on bribes?
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