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Even as the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, Kumar Mangalam Birla, is scheduled to meet the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, the Confederation of Indian Industry has strongly reacted to the case being registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Birla.
Commenting on the CBI action, Kris Gopalakrishnan, President, CII, said, “While it is absolutely within the CBI’s rights to proceed against any person to ensure that the law of the land is preserved, irrespective of the stature of the person, it is desirable to ensure that all facts of the case are laid upfront before proceeding against respected and reputed individuals.”
The Chairman of the $40 billion Aditya Birla Group has had several accusations levelled against him by the CBI, with regards to a coal block allotted to Birla company Hindalco, in 2005. Corporate India is also up in arms against the accusations, and has warned that the CBI's move against Birla could dampen investor sentiment in the country.
Commenting on the underlying issue of the allocation of natural resources, the CII has noted in a statement that there is no one method which applies to all natural resources, when it comes to pricing and allocation. However, the organisation has said, every effort must be made to ensure that the process followed for a particular kind of natural resource ensures there is no human discretion possible, even while giving supremacy to national interests. The CII has said the process of coal block allocation has to be such that there is no scope for discretionary decision-making.
“Reputations of institutions and individuals take years to build and therefore, extreme caution needs to be exercised before any action is taken, which jeopardises the reputation that institutions and individuals build for themselves,'' said Gopalakrishnan.
He added: “Every effort should be made to ensure that there is no atmosphere of fear created, when it comes to decision making. Swift decisions and transparent policy environment are pre-requisites of an enabling business climate.”
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