Centre will take apt action in S-Band spectrum allocation: Pallam Raju

Bangalore, Feb 8 (ANI): Minister of State for Defence Dr. MM Pallam Raju on Tuesday said that the Central Government will take responsible action against S-Band spectrum allocation.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of International Aerospace Awards for 2011 function, Raju said: "The ruling coalition would consider all aspects and it would be unfair to comment at this juncture.

"My reaction would be not to over-react. If there are some observations by the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General), it will definitely be looked in a responsible manner by government and the issue will be addressed in a suitable manner," he added.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has denied reports that a private company has been allotted a whopping 70MHZ of spectrum for barely Rs. 1000 crore through a deal with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which reports directly to the Prime Minister.

In a statement issued here, the PMO clarified that no decision has been taken by the Government to allocate space segment using S Band Spectrum to ANTRIX Corporation or Devas Multimedia.

"Hence, the question of revenue loss does not arise and any such reports are without basis in fact," the statement added.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's office and the Department of Space have already issued statements stating the factual position.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ay pulled up the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre, claiming that the reply of the PMO on the S-Band scam is unsatisfactory.

BJP General Secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad said: "In the recent 3G spectrum auction, the Government had earned 67, 710 crores and the Wi-fi auction had earned them 38,000 crore."

"So, in total, they earned more than one lakh crore in the auctions. We would like to ask the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that as spectrum is a national asset and when they are given to an organisation like ISRO, they are trustees for the spectrum and they cannot alienate it by transfer or lease in any other way," he added.

In a section of the media on Monday it was reported that ANTRIX Corporation, the commercial arm of ISRO entered into an agreement in 2005 with Devas Multimedia allowing use of 70 megahertz of S-band spectrum without inviting bids resulting in huge revenue loss to the exchequer. By Jaipal Sharma (ANI)