New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) The government-appointed one-man committee that probed alleged procedural lapses in awarding airwaves for second generation (2G) telecom services between 2001 and 2009, Monday submitted its report, identifying some errant officials and discrepancies in procedure.
The report is likely to reflect on the credibility of former telecom minister A. Raja’s claims that he followed all procedures while allocating the 2G spectrum to the operators.
Last year, Raja was forced to resign as the telecom minister following opposition onslaught and allegations after the official auditor indicted him in the spectrum allocation saga.
‘We have identified some officials on whose part there have been some deficiencies and lapses. We have also suggested remedial measures,’ former Supreme Court judge Shivraj V. Patil, who headed the one-man probe panel, told reporters here after submitting his report to the government.
Patil said that throughout the enquiry all the officials cooperated with it. In some cases, original documents were not found as these were taken away by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Communications Minister Kapil Sibal, who appointed the one-man committee, said the report ran into 150 pages with four volumes –1,300 pages — of annexures and that it would be made public at an appropriate time.
‘I place on record my appreciation to Justice Patil for submitting the report in such a short period,’ Sibal said. ‘We will examine the report thoroughly and take all the necessary action.’
The report also comes at a time when the government is framing a new telecom policy.
According to its terms of reference, the one-man committee was tasked to go into the circumstances that led to the formulation of the New Telecom Policy of 1999 and to examine the internal procedures since 2001 to issue licences and allocate airwaves.
The panel was also asked to examine if procedures were followed consistently and if these were followed in fair and transparent manner, and to report any deviation, shortcomings and lapses.
