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New Delhi: Communications and IT minister A Raja, who is under fire with the CBI conducting an enquiry into the alleged irregularities in licensing and spectrum allocation to eight new operators in January 2008, had faced severe opposition from his then secretary DS Mathur over the entire process.
The opposition from Mathur, most of which are recorded in files, was so strident that he refused to sign any files on the matter till his retirement. Mathur retired on December 31, 2007 and licences were granted towards the end of January 2008. One of the main objections of Mathur was that no new licence and spectrum could be granted
without an “equitable and transparent policy”.
So far, FE has brought to light the holes in Raja’s defence that he followed the due processes and went by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s recommendations, by highlighting how the cherry-picking was done. (FE edition dated October 24).
On Sunday, a senior DoT official, who was then in charge of the entire process and privy to all meetings and file noting, told FE on the condition of anonymity that the then DoT secretary had opposed the arbitrary cut-off date of September 25, 2007 to grant licences as it was legally not tenable. Mathur had also argued that a policy should be formulated to determine “competent applicants”. “Mathur told Raja that there should be a policy to determine who are the competent applicants, meaning whether licences should be given to a company formed to provide real estate services or to a firm having some synergies with telecom?” the official said.
When FE asked Raja on Mathur’s objections, he said, “I can’t talk to you because I am in a meeting in Chennai”. Several calls made to him later did not receive any response.
It was in the absence of any policy, licences were granted to real estate firms like Unitech and Dynamix Balwas Group, while US-based telecom firm AT&T is yet to get a licence.
The official said that when Raja became minister in May 2007 he called Mathur and expressed his desire to award around 500 new licences. Mathur’s response was that the same was not possible as there was not adequate spectrum and if such large number of licences were given, it would raise a big question mark on whether spectrum needs of the existing operators could be met and whether new licensees could be given spectrum? Mathur said if licences...
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