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New Delhi, Oct. 11: The CBI chief today expressed concern over the “plunder” of precious natural resources” and blamed unaccounted money for the phenomenon.
“The allocation of iron, coal, spectrum, land and other natural resources have attracted lot of attention as being a fertile ground for corrupt practices. The issue has taken centre stage in the debate on corruption,” A.P. Singh, whose agency is probing the coal and 2G scandals, told a conference.
His comments came a day after the Prime Minister warned the “atmosphere of negativity and pessimism” over “corruption” would hit India’s image.
“One crucial aspect is the role of unaccounted money in plundering natural resources as it seems to be the cause as well as the effect of organised acts of corruption,” Singh told the conference of the CBI and state anti-corruption bureaux.
Union minister of state for personnel V. Narayanasamy defended an elected government’s right to frame the policy on natural resources and stressed the need to protect “bona fide” decisions. “While implementing the policy, if someone commits (a) blunder, punish him, not the whole system,” Narayanasamy, whose department oversees the CBI, said.
Singh said his agency was aware of the distinction, and referred to the Prime Minister’s comments yesterday to ensure the innocent are not harassed”.
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