Reason , there is nothing to write about;I observed in the last post on 2 G I mentioned that the 2G will be in cold storage for some reason or another, including JPC Enquiry, a sham, till the Lok Sabha elections are announced.
Now that Elections are round the corner, the case is being dusted up.
Be assured, those who imagine some thing may come out of it,nothing will come out of this 2G scam
This will be used for Blackmail and counter Blackmail by the Parties concerned to fix alliances for Lok Sabha elections.
Now Radia has disclosed that she saw dossiers indicating that Swan was owned by Reliance.
You may visit my category Radia Tapes/Corruption for original Tapes.
Nira Radiaradia Says saw dossiers Swan owned By Reliance.
I am also providing a Link for the posts on 2G.
Bigger scams like Maharashtra Irrigation,Gadkari’s companies,CWG,ISRO, Antrix Devas, CoalGatehave surfaced,I have lost count of them.
But the credit for beginning of Mega scams must go to 2 G.
Story:
During the process of allocation of 2G spectrum, there were dossiers in circulation saying that Swan Telecom — a company promoted by Shahid Balwa – actually belonged toReliance Communications, former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia told a special CBI court on Tuesday.
Radia, who appeared before the court for the first time as a CBI witness in the 2G spectrum scam case, however, said she did not have “personal knowledge” of the fact. “At that time, there were dossiers in circulation stating that the company (STPL) belonged to Reliance Communications, though I do not have any authentic or personal knowledge,” she told special CBI judge O P Saini.
During the hearing, 53-year-old Radia, dressed in a green suit, said Tata Teleservices Ltd, which was ahead in the queue for allocation of 2G spectrum, lost the race while an “ineligible” Swan Telecom, accused in the case, was granted radio waves.
The tampering of the Records of the Coalgate scam.
The Government doctored portions of the CBI Report for which the Supreme Court of India castigated the CBI , relate to the Coal block allocation made during the tenure of Manmohan Singh in 2006 and 2009.
It is not strange for this is the ‘Honest’ Prime Minister who gave a clean chit to A.Raja for 2 G scam well ahead of the enquiry.
He is also the Man who held ‘Paperless discussions with p.Chidambaram, then finance Minister and A.Raja!
A careful reading of the deleted portions seem to convey the message that there isan attempt to impliacte and expose the Pm,Manmohan Singh
Had people kept quiet on ‘the non existence of mechnaism’, the issue would not have surfaced!
“Notably, most of the changes were made in the PE (preliminary enquiry) No. 2 which dealt with the allocations made during 2006 and 2009 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in charge of coal ministry.
“Why was everybody interested in PE 2 only,” is the obvious query of the apex court….
According to advocate and social activist Sudiep Shrivastava, the second PE was launched by the CBI on a CVC reference following complaints made by BJP MPsPrakash Javadekar and Hansraj Ahir, who were interested in exposing the irregularities committed only during 2006 and 2009.
The CBI’s status report on preliminary enquiry (PE) 4 on coal block allocations made during 1993 and 2005 was also altered.
Sinha disclosed in his affidavit that the CBI’s finding that there was no system during 2006 and 2009 regarding allocation of specific weightage/points was deleted by officials from the PMO and coal ministry.
In contrast, both the joint secretary-level officials incorporated a sentence in the final status report on PE 4 highlighting the non-existence of approved guidelines for allocation of coal blocks…
A sentence dealing with the scope of inquiry with respect to legality of allocation even when amendments to the law were in process, was also deleted by the then Minister himself.
Both the drafts of the status report – before and after the doctoring – have been filed in the court in a sealed cover.
If one refers to the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report, it is noted that during the period 2006 and 2009, the screening committee made allocations of coal blocks to a particular allotee “in an arbitrary manner and for extraneous considerations”.
The screening committee was to go by minutes of its meetings. “However, there was nothing on record in the said minutes or in other documents on any comparative evaluation of the applicants for a coal block, which was relied upon by the screening committee. Minutes of the committee did not indicate how each one of the applicants for a particular coal block was evaluated,” the CAG states.
The CBI has come under fire following allegations that its former director A P Singh ordered the name of billionaire telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal to be dropped from the investigation into the 2G spectrum allocation scandal.
The Telecom Watchdog moving the Supreme Court (SC) against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for not including the billionaire’s name in the charge sheet.
Telecom Watchdog in its affidavit has alleged that former CBI director AP Singh overruled the CBI’s investigating team to drop Mittal’s name from the case merely a week before his retirement.
Teelcom Watchdog secretary Anil Kumar told Mail Today that the case would come up for hearing in the apex court on Monday and heard along with the bail plea filed by Mittal in the SC.
The NGO has submitted photocopies of what it claims to be CBI’s documents to back its charge. It has alleged that the CBI team had gathered evidence to show that Mittal had played crucial role in getting the excess spectrum for Bharti Cellular, which is now known as Bharti Airtel, in 2002, when late Pramod Mahajan was the telecom minister and Shyamal Ghosh the telecom secretary.
Telecom Watchdog has also alleged that CBI special director V K Gupta, who was in charge of the investigation, has in a letter to the new director Ranjit Sinha stated that he was kept out of the loop as the file was not put up to him at the crucial last stage.
The CBI is in the process of filing an affidavit before the apex court accepting that the status report it filed last month had been vetted by both the law ministry as well as the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
This is in response to the Supreme Court asking the CBI director to state in an affidavit that the report had not been “shared with the political executive”.
The CBI deserves praise for its move to come clean before the judiciary.
Officials of the agency had resisted the law ministry’s efforts to change its contents but were prevailed upon to tone down the status report.
While this may be explainable given the present system under which the agency functions, the CBI will be doing the cause of probity great service by accepting as much under oath.
Such an admission is sure to bring the spotlight back on the United Progressive Alliance government which has consistently denied any wrongdoing even as it has been embroiled in a series of corruption scandals in recent years.
Anti-corruption crusader and Janata Party (JP) president Subramanian Swamy on Thursday referred to a ‘mining scam’ in Goa and said that when present homeminister P Chidambaram was the finance minister between 2004 and 2007, he fiddled with export duties on mining ore so that mining companies like Vedanta reaped huge profits.
On a visit to Goa, Swamy addressed mediapersons and said the scam is worth around 16,000 crore. When he gets more time from his present engagement with the 2G scam, he will pursue the issue against Chidambaram, Swamy said.
The JP chief praised the movement spearheaded by Anna Hazare and expressed his willingness to join it, but said that Hazare and his team were focused totally on one piece of legislation – the Jan Lokpal bill.
Swamy said that he has proved that even without the Jan Lokpal bill, his Action Committee Against Corruption in India (ACACI) can get results, as evident from the results in the 2G scam so far.
He said the ACACI is now focusing on money stashed abroad. It has already given a 15-page complaint to the CBI asking it to file an FIR. “But the CBI has not filed the FIR even after one month. If and when it does, the ACACI will take the FIR to a criminal court and get a letter-rogatory. With that letter, the ACACI will go abroad and obtain details about the money stashed in foreign countries,” Swamy said.
He said that while the ACACI has provided names of politicians who have such foreign bank accounts, the French government has provided 788 names of Indians and the German government provided 16 such names.
“But the government of India is not prosecuting these people. If the CBI does not file the FIR by January 1, I will go to the Supreme Court asking it to direct the CBI to do so, like I did in the Raja case when the Prime Minister did not give me sanction,” Swamy said.
He said he has filed 17 files corruption cases against Chidambaram. These include irregularities in stock market and various other cases. “But my busy engagement with present cases is preventing me from pursuing the case”
Now, the scam that involves Rs.35,000 Crores is ,as expected growing involving Former UPA Minister Union of State ,Santosh Bargodia( 2006),who is expected to be arrested.
In the meanwhile, an Official in the Mining Ministry in Goa has revealed the details of the scam.This is being debated in TimeNow Channel to-night,Watch it.(24 September,2012)
CBI has also ordered the widening of the scope of the scam involving the NDA period.
Hope this does not detract the main case by mudslinging by the UPA and the NDA!
And let not the arrests end at the level of the junior officials and political non entities.
“The CBI has decided to expand its probe into coalgate bringing under its scanner all coal block allocations made since 1993 including the six-year NDA rule after a reference in this regard was received from the CVC on Monday.
Last week, coal minister Shriprakash Jaiswal wrote to Central Vigilance Commission seeking a CBI probe into all the coal blocks allocated since 1993 when the government had started allocation to private players for captive use.
Seeking the CBI probe, Jaiswal has also recently forwarded a letter written by seven parliamentarians to the CVC saying that blocks allotted between 1993 and 2004 including those given during the NDA rule should be investigated by the CBI, as allegedly favours were done to parties under political pressure.
The letter of MPs also sought for enquiry as to what system the government of India put in place for selection of companies for coal block allocation between 1993 to 2004 and whether these guidelines were followed and how were joint venture partners selected.
The CVC on Monday referred the complaints to the CBI to probe the matter and the agency will soon begin its investigation on it, CBI sources said.
The allocation of coal blocks to private companies for captive use started in 1993 when Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 was ammended with the objective of attracting private investments in specified end uses such as power, cement and steel because of growing economy.
In its ongoing probe, CBI has so far registered seven FIRs against private companies and unknown public officials for alleged misrepresentation of facts.
“Till March 2011, the ministry of coal has allocated 194 coal blocks for captive mining of which 142 were explored blocks and the balance 52 were either regionally explored or unexplored coal blocks,” Comptroller and Auditor General has said in its recent report on coal block allocation.
The picture of the maze of Coal block allocation is slowly emerging.
The whole transaction is mired in Companies controlled by Companies.
Right now the Jayswals of Nagpur seem to be what SUN TVGroup was to 2 G Scam.
There seems to be a refinement over 2 G in that the spoils seem to be evenly distributed , yet the picture is unclear.
There ought to be some fixer, masquerading as Lobbyist like Radia.
Am looking into it.
Story:
Of the five companies raided on Tuesday, three belong to one family – the Nagpur-based Jayaswals. Split in two businesses, they are among the largest beneficiaries in the coal block allocations, holding 10 blocks with more than 900 million tonnes of coal. What is more striking is that they managed to get such a large allocation with only one project running on the ground.
Outside Raipur, in the smog-filled industrial area of Siltara, exists a steel plant run by Jayaswal Neco company. Headed by the family patriarch Basant Lal Jayaswal, the company is managed by his son Ramesh Jayaswal. Until a few years ago, Ramesh’s elder Manoj was part of the Neco Group. But following a family feud, he branched out, taking control of companies under the banner of Abhijeet Group.
…
All in the family * Of five companies raided on Tuesday, three belong to one family – the Nagpur-based Jayaswals * Family patriarch Basant Jayaswal. Three sons Ramesh, Manoj & Arvind * Ramesh manages Jayaswal Neco Group. Father is group chairman. Manoj heads Abhijeet Group
Abhijeet Group has six coal blocks Jharkhand: Five blocks Chhattisgarh: Fatehpur East (Allocated to JLD Yavatmal Energy) These six add up to 444 mn tonnes of coal
Jayaswal companies raided today AMR Iron and Steel (jointly held).
JAS Infrastructure (Abhijeet Group).
JLD Yavatmal (Abhijeet Group & Darda Family)
Jayaswal NECO group has three coal blocks Chattisgarh: Gare Palma IV/4 Gare Palma IV/8 Jharkhand: Moitra These add up to 447 mn tonnes
Joint ownership: AMR Three brothers jointly own AMR Iron and Steel, allocated a 31 mn tonne block Bander, Maharashtra Between them, 10 blocks and 917 mn tonnes of coal.
Information acquired Right to Information activist Mahendra Yadav, has revealed that JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, one of the five companies against whom the Central Bureau of Investigation had registered first information reports, had acquired the coal blocks without signing a revised Memorandum of Understanding.
The company is setting up the first private sector thermal plant in Bihar’s Banka district.
The RTI has revealed that as per the MoU, the state-owned Bihar State Electricity Board could purchase power up to a maximum 25 per cent from the proposed power plant under the terms of an agreement.
“But in case of Public Sector National Thermal Power] Corporation’s proposed power plant, the Bihar government had demanded 50 per cent power,” he said.
CNN-IBN has accessed the entire list of 58 coal blocks which are under the scanner. A close look at these companies indicates that they have political connections.
Abhijeet Infrastructure Ltd, which got three blocks in Jharkhand, is owned by a close associate of Congress MP Vijay Darda.
Another company JLD Yavatmal Energy which got a block in Chhattisgarh is also allegedly a front of Vijay Darda.
Another Congress MP Naveen Jindal‘s company has non-producing blocks in Odhisha and Jharkhand.
SKS Ispat & Power Ltd for which Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay is already under fire had got two blocks as well.
It is not as if there were just Congress leaders who were beneficiaries of coal block allocation. CNN IBN has in its possession documents which show Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, allegedly signing 44 MoUs with private players for which an enquiry has been conducted. BJP president Nitin Gadkari‘s key aide and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Sancheti has been singled out by the CAG for causing a loss of Rs 900 crore to Chhattisgarh government. But there is another side to this story as well, beyond the political slugfest, some companies got coal blocks and sold them at much higher prices.
CNN-IBN has exclusively accessed a letter written by Sandeep Gupta, Undersecretary of Coal Ministry, to a company in May 2012 which had got a block. Shree Virangana Steels Ltd changed its entire shareholding pattern to M/S topworth Urja and Metals Ltd. The letter read: At present, there is no shareholder from the original allocatee who were alloted the coal blocks. Allotment of coal blocks by the government is for captive purpose and is not for profiteering. Commercial use of coal is not allowed. The sale of shareholding for profit defeats the entire purpose.”
Sources say that most companies which were declared to be involved in sponge iron business are the ones who were chosing the route of squatting. Get a block and then sell it to the highest bidder later. The real impact of this entire scam will be the difficulty that will now be faced by these front-end companies to sell their stakes.
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