To add to this is another scam being unearthed by CAG - Oil ministry allowed 'gold-plating' of the development costs of Reliance KG fields.
Now, The Oil Stain
By exposing its lesser arm, is the petromin hiding bigger sins?
Lola Nayar
Petro Fallout
- Murli Deora, who as petroleum minister sought the CAG audit and sanctioned a CVC probe, offers to quit his ministerial post
- CBI action reinforces CAG draft report findings blaming DGH for oversight in implementation of production-sharing contracts
- Unease in market, as yet another CBI probe into charges of DGH having favoured RIL in its exploration activities is under way
- Petroleum ministry is keen to increase DGH strength, expertise to match exploration needs
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The shadow-boxing is well and truly on. Is the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raid on the premises of seven former officials of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), a technical advisory arm of the petroleum ministry, a canny red herring meant to deflect attention from the larger issues ailing the petroleum sector? Many experts subscribe to this view, warning that the level of scams waiting to be unearthed in the petroleum sector will put the 2G-spectrum scam in the pale. “I fear that the CBI action at this juncture may be politically convenient to take attention away from uncomfortable issues and focus on DGH lapses,” a former top bureaucrat says, rather candidly.
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Many think the focus on Sibal is a ploy to shift attention from the petromin and the pvt sector biggies.[/TD]
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If the leaked draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the “irregularities” in India’s exploration activities raised dust, the CBI action on similar charges heightens the expectation that more muck—rather than oil and gas, metaphorically speaking—will be produced in the days ahead. Already, the pressure is building up, with former petroleum minister Murli Deora indicating to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi his desire to step down as corporate affairs minister. “I did not understand gold-plating or know of any DGH role in it,” Deora tells
Outlook. “You don’t expect a politician to know everything, especially technical details. In these matters, you go by the guidance of the ministry officials.” The present focus on the functioning of an arm of the petroleum ministry—an important one, no doubt—does appear to be an attempt to localise future blame at the door of V.K. Sibal, who was in charge of the DGH from 2004-09. While Sibal is no saint—he is currently under investigation in another case for favouring Reliance Industries (RIL)—experts smell a rat. Were the CBI raids carefully timed to shift focus to Sibal and his team even as the petroleum ministry and the private sector exploration biggies are preparing their defence to critique the CAG draft report?
Related links:
Now, The Oil Stain
Murli Deora Quitting Due to CAG Indictment?
Govt Tampering with CAG Report on KG Basin: Joshi
CAG Raps Oil Ministry for Allowing RIL to Overbill Govt