The Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Wednesday said the report related to the 2G spectrum allocation had been submitted to the Centre. “We have submitted the final report to the government,” CAG Vinod Rai told journalists here, but declined to disclose the findings.
Asked when the report would be tabled in Parliament, Mr. Rai said it was up to the government to decide. “Maybe within a fortnight or it may take longer,” he said.
Referring to the investigations into the alleged misappropriation of funds in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games, he said the audit was in progress. About the Adarsh Housing Society scandal in Mumbai, Mr. Rai said no audit had commenced as yet.
Last week the Communist Party of India (Marxist) distributed papers to the media containing some CAG findings on 2G spectrum that put the total loss to the exchequer at Rs.1.76 lakh crore. The CAG has reportedly put the revenue loss to the exchequer due to under-pricing of spectrum at up to Rs.1.40 lakh crore, in addition to another Rs.36,700 crore on allocation of spectrum beyond contractual limit to the existing nine operators.
The CAG report has also reportedly said that the Ministry of Telecom took arbitrary decisions while allotting 2G spectrum; that it ignored the advice of the Union Finance and Law Ministries, causing massive losses to the exchequer; and that besides selling 122 new 2G licences in 2008 at 2001 prices, the Department of Telecommunications gave 85 licences to companies that did not qualify for them.
