At the request of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in November 2007, the Comptroller & Auditor General of India agreed to carry out special audit in respect of certain blocks/fields operated under Pre-NELP and NELP regimes.
2. The draft Performance Audit Report has been received in this Ministry on 08.06.2011. This Ministry is examining the draft report, it involves scrutiny of administrative/ policy issues and technical issues. The preparation of a detailed reply will take some time. The CAG report is at the draft stage. On receipt of MOPNG™s reply, the Office of CAG will examine the reply on merits and will hold an exit conference with this Ministry. It is only after taking into account the reply of Government that the Office of CAG will suitably amend the draft report and send the final report for placing it on the table of Parliament.
3. While the above process is underway, the leaked draft report is being reported and commented upon in sections of the media. As the process of preparation of reply and its vetting by the Office of CAG is yet to be completed, it would be premature for the Ministry to give any response on the observations made in the draft report at this stage. It would be equally incorrect for the media commentators, political leaders and civil rights activists to jump to conclusions and thus short-circuit the process.
4. The Ministry, therefore, appeals to all concerned to exercise restraint and allow the process to be completed.
