2G scam: Its pay-back time for benefactors
"Because of non-rolling out of services for a long time the exchequer has suffered a huge revenue loss and these companies, who grabbed the spectrum, but did not start their services are liable under law to compensate the government," said an unidentified source to the Times Of India.
The DoT has apparently set a deadline of 15 days to pay-up for the company's that have not complied with the roll-out obligations.
"The DoT is free to terminate the licenses of those who have not rolled out their services within 52 weeks. Many of these firms fall in this category. Though their licenses could be straightaway cancelled without the requirement of a show-cause notice being issued to them, the DoT thinks they first be asked to compensate the loss, if notional, they have caused to the exchequer," the source added.
This decision comes at the heels of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's ( TRAI) recommendation of the cancelling of 69 of the 130 licenses allotted to 2G services. The Telecom Minister, Kapil Sibal had said earlier that many of the companies were not eligible to receive the 2G licenses in the first place since they had not disclosed facts paramount to applying for spectrum.
OneIndia News