CAG report is only a draft report: Mukherjee

New Delhi, Mar 22 (ANI): With the opposition targetting the UPA Government over a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on coal block allocation that reported a loss of Rs 10.67 lakh crores, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said it was just a draft report.

"No, it is not a CAG report, it's a draft report. Normal practice is draft report then ministry's comments will come. After the ministry's comments then there is a regular system through which it will have be placed on the table of the House," Mukherjee told media here.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today, in reference to the lead story published in one of the news daily accusing of scam involving sale of coal blocks, has said that the reports are extremely misleading.

The CAG, in the letter, has stated that the report is in its preliminary stage and doesn't even constitute a pre-final draft.

Expressing anguish over the leak of the report, CAG said: "In the extant case, the details being brought out were observations which are under discussion at a very preliminary stage and do not even constitute our pre-final draft and hence are exceedingly misleading. ... Pursuant to clarification provided by the Ministry in exit conferences held on 9.02.2012 and 9.03.2012, we have changed our thinking.

"In fact it is not even our case that the unintended benefit to the allocatee is an equivalent loss to the exchequer. The leak of the initial draft causes great embarrassment as the Audit Report is still under preparation. Such leakage causes very deep anguish."

Uproarious scenes were witnessed in parliament today after news report of scam of an amount of 10.7 lakh crores surfaced out in the allocation of coal blocks between 2004-09, leading to adjournment of both the Houses. (ANI)