The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has sought full-scale information from the department of telecommunications (DoT) on the formulation of the 3G and broadband wireless access (BWA) policy, the spectrum auction of which are slated for January 15, 2009.
In addition, the CVC has also asked DoT to furnish all information regarding policies framed on mergers and acquisitions, grant of 2G spectrum and new licences and issues where it differed with the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
The DoT has already initiated the process of formulating a reply to the CVC with Harsh Vardhan Singh, director, vigilance in the DoT asking the relevant departments to furnish all the details. Singh has asked details about all the officers, their designations and scope of work who were involved in the policy-making exercise in the related matters.
This is the first time that the CVC has undertaken such an in-depth investigation into the matter. In the past CVC has asked DoT questions relating to 2G spectrum allocation and why it was not auctioned and the DoT has replied on the matter. But this time, the issue ranges from 3G policy to the time when the fourth cellular operator were inducted in circles, to how was the price of pan-India licence fee of Rs 1,651 crore discovered in 2001.
Communications and IT minister, A Raja has been under fire mainly for allocating spectrum and licence to a host of new players at a price discovered in 2001. Since two such players, Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless subsequently sold stakes to foreign telecom players at valuations in the range of $2 billion, there have been allegations that Raja has caused losses to the national exchequer. The minister has, however, denied such allegations stating that he went by the Trai recommendations and Cabinet decision.
Meanwhile, the CPI-M on Friday accused Raja of misleading the Parliament on the issuance of new telecom licences at throw away prices and alleged that it cost the exchequer a whopping Rs 1,00,000 crore and demanded that the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh look into it.
?This is a mega telecom scam. New telecom licences have been given on first-come, first-serve basis at the prices fixed in 2001. The market value of these licences is roughlyseven times higher now,? CPI-M Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said. The existing mobile operators under the umbrella of Cellular Operators Association of India had also opposed the decision of issuing new licences at a fixed price of Rs 1,651 crore for pan-India coverage.
