This is how RP-Sanjiv Goenka firms were allowed to beat coal auctions

This is more a complaint than allegation. Modi government enables private firms so they can continue to bypass competitive processes for cornering large coal reserves.

The allegation says that the auction of large coal reserves, ignores warnings from the auditor revealing that it is a loss to the exchequer in the auction process. Online bidding was started by India’s Ministry of Coal for the Sarisatolli coal mine in West Bengal.

But unfortunately, it failed to generate heat in the energy-hungry country, and the first bid came after one hour thirty-seven minutes and that was there from a conglomerate’s firm. Out of the five eligible and competent companies, just one kept could spar with the firm. Another made a once fleeting appearance was made by another and the rest did not opt to bid.

Three of the total five bidders, along with the winner, hailed from the same conglomerate which is the RPSG (RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group). This revelation has come from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The RPSG is a $4bn-revenue conglomerate with interests inIT, Power, education, media and retail.

The documents were shown only by one out of the three RP Sanjiv Goenka group subsidiaries, and one out of them did not bid at all. Another subsidiary was a shell company that was acquired two days prior to the auction by the group. This company tendered a bid from the same private internet protocol (IP) address that originally was used by its parent company the Calcutta Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) which is also the bid-winner.

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A lack of bid secrecy was indicated by the documents provided which were during an auction, essential for getting optimum value. Here CAG’s protocols say that related entities which are communicating with each other and also participating during the bidding process are considered to be “bid-rigging,”