The CAG has told the Prime Minister that the media reports on alleged coal scam published in a newspaper is exceedingly misleading. Quoting CAG, the daily claimed that the government has lost 10.7 lakh crore rupees by not auctioning coal blocks.

Rejecting the claim, the CAG in a letter to Dr Manmohan Singh today, said the details being brought out were observations which are under discussion at a very preliminary stage. These do not even constitute its pre-final draft.

Terming that such leakages causes very deep anguish, the CAG said the leak of the initial draft causes great embarrassment as the Audit Report is still under preparation. In the excerpts of its letter released by PMO to the press, CAG also said it has changed its mind following clarification provided by the Ministry in exit conferences held on 9.02.2012 and 9.03.2012.

In fact it is not even its case that the unintended benefit to the allocatee is an equivalent loss to the exchequer, the CAG said.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee described the CAG's report as only a draft and not yet a CAG report. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi Mukherjee said the normal practice is after the CAG's draft report, ministry's comments come and after the comments there is a regular system through which it will be placed on the table of both Houses of Parliament.