Reports on black money are available for Par panel members: FM

New Delhi: Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the reports on black money are available for members of a Parliamentary committee, after some members of the panel claimed that the reports are not being shared with them. The issue was raised by BJD leader B Mahtab during the discussion on Finance Bill and he was supported by TMC member Saugata Roy. Mahtab alleged that the government has restrained the Standing Committee on Finance Chairman from sharing with the panel members three reports on black money. In response, Goyal said the reports are available for the members, but not available for putting in public domain. The minister also said the figures are different in the reports and there is no credible conclusion. He cited various communications from the Lok Sabha Secretariat and said the reports are now property of the Secretariat. Congress leader Veerappa Moily is the chairman of the panel.

The UPA government had commissioned in 2011 the studies by the Delhi-based National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad.

The study reports of the NIPFP, NCAER and NIFM were received by the government on December 30, 2013, July 18, 2014, and August 21, 2014, respectively.