Panel on 2G spectrum gives report, names officials for lapses

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) The one-man panel that went intothe procedures for giving 2G licences between 2001 and 2009has identified the officials responsible for lapses inimplementing the policy in a transparent and fair manner.

Justice (Retd) Shivraj Patil today submitted the reportto Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and said: "I have identifiedthe officials on whose part there were deficiency or werelapses".

The one-man committee was set up by Sibal to look intothe policies and procedures followed during the distributionof licences in 2001-2009, a period that includes the NDAregime, and ascertain if they were followed in a transparentmanner.

"Some officials have been named and some procedures havebeen commented upon... What the future course of action shouldbe for the grant of spectrum has been commented upon," Sibalsaid after receiving the report.

Asked about the role of former telecom minister A Raja inthe allocation procedure, both Sibal and Patil declined tocomment.

"The Central Bureau of Investigation is dealing with thecriminal culpability... That is a different issue. My reportdeals with the procedures followed by the Department ofTelecom (DoT) while granting licences and allocating spectrumduring 2001 to 2009," Patil told reporters here.

He (Patil) pointed out that there was some difficulty inprocuring original documents in some cases, as the same werewith the CBI, who is investigating into the 2G spectrum scam.

"However, the copies were produced by my reference...,"he acknowledged.

The committee was constituted to look at the internaldepartmental procedures adopted by the DoT during 2001-09 withthe issuance of telecom, access service licences andallocation of spectrum to all telecom access service licenceesduring this period.

This was done in view of government auditor Comptrollerand Auditor General (CAG) quantifying the revenue loss to theexchequer on account of the sale of 2G licences and spectrumin 2008 by the then Telecom Minister A Raja, who insists thathe only followed the policies of his predecessors, at up to Rs1.76 lakh crore.

Justice Patil has submitted a 150-page report withannexures running into 1,300 pages.

However, Sibal did not divulge the details of thefindings, but said he would soon look into the report.