A desperate UPA today admitted that procedures followed in spectrum allocation during its tenure were wrong,but was quick to add that all decisions taken on allocation has been procedurally wrong since 2003 – that is,when the Opposition NDA was in power.
Seeking to drag the earlier NDA government,the one-man committee that went into spectrum allocation from 2001 said there have been violations of procedures in giving 2G licences but it equally damned A Raja saying his actions in 2007-08 were not consistent with Cabinet decision.
Releasing excerpts of the findings of Justice Shivraj Patil Committee,Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal today announced that the report would be referred to the CBI which is already investigating the 2G scam allegedly under Raja.
The major finding of the Committee is that since 2001,the internal proceudres adopted by the Department of Telecom (DoT) and government have not been in tune with extant policies and directions of the government.
It has held that the decisions taken by the DoT in respect of grant of Unified Access Service Licences (UASL),bundled with spectrum,right from 2003 onwards and including the actions in 2007-08,were neither consistent with the decisions of Union Cabinet dated 2003 nor the recommendations of telecom regulator TRAI.
On the controversial decision of Raja to advance the cut-off date for consideration to grant licences,the committee found that it was neither according to procedures nor did it meet principles of objectivity and fairness of transparency.
“Procedure formulated whereby the processing of applications for grant of UASLs was restricted to only such applications,which were received up to 25.09.2007,when the last date of receiving an application was stipulated as 01.10.2007 is not traceable either to powers vested in terms of any procedure laid out or satisfies the requistes of law,in particular,the principles of objectivity,fairness of transparency…” it said.
The report also did not approve of the decision to change the procedure regarding acceptance of applications for the purpose of FCFS basis.
“….Prior to January 7,2008,the date of receipt of application in DoT was reckoned for the purpose of FCFS and after January 7,2008,the date of compliance of LoI was reckoned for the purposes of FCFS. This was also not in tune with extant policy…,” the report said.
Sibal said that all decisions taken since 2003 with regard to spectrum allocation were wrong.
To a question on Raja claiming that he had followed his predecessors,he said “Raja has always said that he followed past policies and past policies were themselves wrong.”
The telecom regulator TRAI in its recommendations on October 27,2003 said “no spectrum should be bundled with licence and there should be multi-stage bidding for allocating airwaves.” But the Department of Telecom did not follow it,he said.
“All spectrum allocation,be it start-up 4.4 Mhz,6.2 Mhz or additional airwaves,were wrong,” he said.
“We are giving this report to the CBI,who is already investigating into the issue… Then it is between CBI and the Supreme Court,” Sibal said.
About 17 officials including past Telecom Ministers and other senior bureaucrats have been held responsible for not following the policy in transparent manner,Sibal said but declined to give names.
“Further,on 24.11.2003,the minister approved the formulation for grant of licences on the basis of FCFS (first come first serve) as against through multi-stage bidding process. All this was clearly in deviation of extant policies,” the report said.
The report pointed out 25 specific instances,during 2001 to 2009,where there appears to have been deviation,inappropriate applications and violation of underlying principles of the laid down procedures.
It included,among others,extension of time for rectifying deficiencies as well as time for compliance in grant of Basic Service Licences (BSLs) in 2001,delay in processing of pending applications for grant of UASL from time to time,delay in allotment of spectrum,allotment of excess spectrum,issuance of LoI (Letter of Intent) despite violation of various criterion in 2007 as well as inconsistent adoption of FCFS during award of licences in 2007.
Further,16 specific instances of lack of fairness and transparency in procedure adopted by DoT in granting licences and allotment of spectrum during 2001-09 have also been reported by OMC.
However,the one-man committee report also suggested remedial measures to avoid in future,deficiencies in formulation of procedures and lapses in implementation of laid-down procedures. It has been advised that a reasonable,fair,transparent and certain procedure for selection based on merits is devised of FCFS.
It has further recommended that procedures need to be formulated which specific time frame for receiving,scrutinising applications,intimating the applications found eligible,processing them and intimating the decision to applicant formally in writing.
Need for comprehensive new legislation “Radio Communications Act” has been felt,Sibal said,adding that the formation of new policy is under way.
The CBI has accused former A Raja of causing a loss of Rs 22,000 crore to the exchequer by favouring some telecom firms in awarding 2G spectrum licences.
Raja,former Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura and Raja’s former Personal Secretary R K Chandolia,are in CBI custody for the next four days.
The CBI said due to Raja,at least two telecom firms,including Swan Telecom and Unitech,were benefitted to the tune of several hundred crores of rupees by selling their stakes to various other global firms shortly after getting licences.
This is for the first time that the CBI has directly accused Raja of complicity in the 2G scam after it had filed an FIR against unknown officials and private persons and companies on October 21,2009.
Though the agency has pegged the loss at Rs 22,000 crore based on the calculations made by the CVC,the CAG had in its report projected a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
Raja’s counsel Ramesh Gupta has said in court: “Raja was not solely responsible in the alleged scam.”
Meanwhile,Raja’s party the DMK will project this popular Dalit leader as a hero of the people.
The DMK is firmly backing A Raja,who will remain in the powerful position of the party’s propaganda secretary.
“The only wrong Raja committed was making mobile phones affordable to millions of poor people. Raja is in jail,I appreciate him on their behalf,” DMK chief M Karunanidhi has said.
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