CAG: Anything can be seen as presumptive loss, say Kamal Nath

New Delhi: In an apparent dig at CAG reports on coal block allocation and Delhi airport development, Union Minister Kamal Nath today said the “philosophy of presumptive loss” could start from anywhere and go to any end.

“There is a kind of mood that everything is wrong and there is a philosophy of presumptive loss. Now, if I have a government car and don’t use it for one week, it is presumptive loss for the government…that they paid for the car and never used it,” Nath said.

The CAG has pegged the presumptive loss to state exchequer due to coal allocation at Rs 1.86 lakh crore. It also found indicted the Civil Aviation Ministry for allowing the GMR Group-managed Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) to divert Rs 239.69 crore, collected from passengers as service fee, to purchase security equipment which should have been bought with the company’s own funds.

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“You have government accommodation, it is not allotted, it is presumptive loss. So, presumptive loss can start from here and go to any end. The question is that what is the right way of doing a thing,” Nath added.

[caption id=“attachment_425569” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Union Minister Kamal Nath in this file photo.Reuters[/caption]

The Urban Development Minister was speaking at a function organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here.

Nath also said that everything about the contract which was given to GMR for running the Delhi airport was done in a “transparent” manner and the balance sheet of the company also did not reflect any profits accruing from any kind of largesse.

“I remembered at that time we wanted to build the airport before the Commonwealth Games. So we faced a delay, nobody is coming, persuade the people to come and I as the Commerce Minister held a meeting of possible investors and no bidders,” Nath said.

“So now it’s bid, and to say they have been giving the money, thousands of crores infact that is not reflected in their accounts. Government is in the dock, because why did you give it to GMR,” he asked.

Nath further said that the government was facing criticism for having got things done.

“You didn’t have an airport, doesn’t mind. You want an airport, well then you got to face the music with everybody beating you up saying you gave a big largesse,” he said.

Nath further said that a lot of people who complained of policy paralysis were ones who had got used to very high pace of growth.

“In India we have got used to booms. Anything which is not a boom is gloom. This has become the state with the real estate sector, this sector or that sector, you may take any sector and the catchword is policy paralysis,” Nath said.

He said that in his meetings with representatives of auto sector which had experienced 30-35 percent growth, there was a mood of gloom if the growth was 15 per cent.

“There are curves in this (growth), some very sharp upward curves. Now if the sharp upward curves are not maintained, it is gloom, policy paralysis…I don’t buy that,” Nath said.

Nath said there was no policy paralysis in his Ministry and work was being done and all officers were taking important decisions.

PTI