New Delhi, Apr 23 (IANS): The Congress core group met here Tuesday ahead of the tabling of the standing committee report in parliament on coal block allocations.

The standing committee was headed by Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee.

The CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) report on coal block allocation, tabled in parliament on August 17, 2012, had put the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in a spot and the opposition stalled the business for many days.

The final CAG report lowered the estimated windfall gains to Rs.1.86 lakh crore by excluding the state-run companies and joint ventures with government entities.

The coal ministry had argued for separating allocations to private companies on the ground that state entities or their joint ventures were in any case audited separately by the CAG.

The standing committee's report is coming at a time when the opposition has once again raked up the coal block allocation issue.