NEW DELHI: The oil ministry on Thursday said the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report on the books of three oil and gas fields operated by private companies was not final and urged the media to "exercise restraint" on reporting it.
As first reported by TOI on Sunday, the draft report severely indicted the ministry and its regulatory arm for exploration firms, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, for allowing Reliance Industries Ltd, Cairn India and a consortium led by BG (formerly British Gas) undue benefits and violating contract terms.
A ministry statement said the CAG report was at the draft stage. "This ministry is examining the draft report, it involves scrutiny of administrative/policy issues and technical issues. The preparation of a detailed reply will take some time. It is only after taking into account the reply of government that CAG will suitably amend the draft report and send the final report for placing it in Parliament," the ministry said.
"As the process of preparation of reply and its vetting by the office of CAG is yet to be completed, it would be premature for the ministry to give any response on the observations made in the draft report at this stage," the statement added.
"While the above process is underway, the leaked draft report is being reported and commented upon in sections of the media... It would be equally incorrect for the media commentators, political leaders and civil rights activists to jump to conclusions and thus short-circuit the process," it further said.
"On receipt of the ministry's reply, CAG will examine the reply on merit and will hold an exit conference with it before making its final observations. The ministry, therefore, appeals to all concerned to exercise restraint and allow the process to be completed," the statement said.
The draft report said the ministry and DGH favoured Reliance but did not say if the doubling of cost of developing the showcase Andhra offshore field by the Mukesh Ambani firm had caused loss to the state exchequer.
It also pulled up the ministry for going out of its way to grant nearly 1,700 sq km of additional area to Cairn India adjacent to its oil discovery in Rajasthan's Barmer district.
The ministry said it was at its request in November 2007 that CAG agreed to carry out special audit in respect of certain blocks/fields operated under pre-New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) and NELP regimes.
source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Act-with-restraint-on-CAG-report-media-told/articleshow/8883403.cms
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