After terming the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s estimate of Rs. 1,76,000 crore loss in the 2G spectrum allocation as a “myth”, finance minister P Chidambaram on Sunday said the projected Rs. 1,86,000 crore loss in coal block allocation would also turn out to be a “mythical” and “fancy” number.

Fresh from the just-concluded auction of 2G mobile phone airwaves that tested if the government could actually get what the official auditor had projected as loss from allocating spectrum on a first-come, first-served basis, he said the loss estimated in coal block allocation was another fancy number, he told PTI.

“One business house (official) told me that it was allotted a coal block some seven-eight years ago. (But), it has not been able to enter that area yet for a variety of reasons. Now, what’s the point in saying that some loss is there. What is the loss?” he asked. “Yes, if there is any irregularity in allocating the block, then that’s a different matter. But where is the loss?”