Background: Coal Mining Scam or Coalgate is a corruption scandal wherein the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) office accused the Government of India for providing the nation's coal deposits to private and state-run entities in an irregular and arbitrary manner instead of publicly auctioning them off to the highest bidder, resulting in a loss of approximately 186,000 crore (US$33.67 billion) to the exchequer during the period 2004-2009 (source: Wikipedia).