Fixing reserve price for auction a tough task
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on spectrum, which has witnessed the resignation of two Union Ministers as chairmen without taking any decisions, is readying to meet on Thursday.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram has been placed at the helm of decision-making after the EGoM’s first chairman, Pranab Mukherjee, quit after being nominated as a presidential candidate, followed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who cited attempts to link him to Swan Telecom — a 2G scam beneficiary.
The government’s choice of Mr. Chidambaram is a bold one given the Opposition’s attempts to target him for his role as Finance Minister during 2006-08 when the 2G scam unfolded.
Further, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, whose recommendations are pivotal to the EGoM’s decision, has had a change in leadership. The views of its new chairman, Rahul Khullar, have been kept a secret. If these vary from the original recommendations, it will pose an additional challenge to an already difficult task. Industry sources say a TRAI vs. TRAI situation is possible.
The complexity of the task at hand, the political undercurrents and media spotlight further combine to place additional pressure on Mr. Chidambaram. The key decisions confronting the EGoM relate to fixing a reserve price for the upcoming 2G auctions in August and pricing spectrum for the existing players. The 20-year impact on revenue is estimated to be upwards of Rs. 3-lakh crore.
Mr. Chidambaram was Finance Minister in 2006-08, when at the behest of the then Telecom Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, spectrum pricing was dropped from the Terms of Reference of the then GoM. In fact, it never even met for over a year, while Mr. Maran forced — and the Prime Minister approved — the deletion of spectrum pricing, which eventually resulted in the grant of 14 licences to Maxis-Aircel in 2006 at 2001 rates. The matter is being probed by the CBI following a Supreme Court order. In a twist of fate, Mr. Chidambaram now heads an EGoM dealing with the same spectrum pricing issue that his Ministry failed to retain on the GoM’s agenda.
Additionally, as chairman of the EGoM, he will need to respond to the question whether spectrum pricing for the existing players should begin at 0, or 4.4 or 6.2 MHz. However, an appeal pending against him in the Supreme Court alleges that he “revised his position from giving away 4.4 MHz spectrum at 2001 prices, to giving away 6.2 MHz spectrum at 2001 prices, thus forcing an additional loss on the exchequer.” It is this potential conflict of interest that the BJP’s Yashwant Sinha recently highlighted. Can the EGoM deal with complex and conflicting recommendations?
Will ice cream and bottled water become cheaper?
It is difficult to comment on pending legal matters.
But, what remains etched in people’s minds is how can a law graduate
and a Harvard MBA give orders to beat up women and children (did
someone die from the injuries of the police brutalities?) in the
middle of the night, sleeping in their own country - all fellow
citizens, and all for apparently raising their concerns, in a peaceful
manner, in a supposedly democratic country, about national plunder on
an astronomical scale by the nexus of politicians and top bureaucrats?
And Indian justice? Well, seems to be deaf, blind and mute so far.
@S.Ramanujam Well said. Mr. Chidambaram’s only achievement as the Home Minister was his constant abuse and misuse of power, by unleashing the CRPF and other licensed thugs to kill innocent tribal people to feed business tycoons’ profit motives. His approaches, as the Home Minister, to the poverty of the majority of the working class, prove itself to be the model of democratic fascism.
Is there no other senior leader in the cabinet(with a "clean image" with
respect to 2G) to take up this position ? It seems that UPA II is no
longer bothered of public sentiments that it has come up with a bold
decision like this one...Whether PC can deliver this task in an honest
and convincing manner is doubtful..
Looks like only Chidambaram can resolve the matter. When
responsibilities are heaped notwithstanding whatever public opinion is
hurled, the person who takes on to seek solutions not only for the
consumers, but also for investors, innovators, service providers,
mobile phone manufacturers, network and software developers, banks and
bankers, and all spillover beneficiaries must be taken into
consideration. Chidambaram should not even mind for a second like
before , how Subramania Swamy would now initiate a new case with
Prashant Bhushan or Anna Hazare to subvert this
matter to court again. For once this matter must be resolved and India
must move forward and it can only be resolved by PC for once and for
all.
It is doubtful if Chidambaram has done any good work as HM. This is very clear from the fact thst he claimed that it was >Maoists who were gunned down in Bijapur, whereas the very next day it was announced by the neutral investigator that innocent people were slaughtered by the forces. Like his PM he also has lost credibility. You just can not believ what he says. With this background what is he going to achieve? If he has got any sense of self respect he should quit the government.
It is akin to that of asking the Minister to plant the sapling of Money Tree.
It is not rocket science requiring a Vikram Sarabhai to head this committee. It is nothing but commerce. What is so great and complicated? The committee shall look at the issues objectively keeping the factors of telecom growth and sustainability in mind. If we are afraid of favouritism, nepotism etc, don't we have checks, balances, vigilance etc in the system?
We have some brilliant Lawyers like Chidambaram,Singhvi,Kapil sibbal and etc occupying responsible positions in the Cabinet but there is no need for some of them to be so arrogant that they care two hoots for public opinion. Chidambaram is solely responsible for his role in 2G allocations as an accomplice .The way even his election as a MP is challenged(of course the Judiciary takes too long to decide on the merits or otherwise)speaks volumes about the integrity of Chidambaram,alas, his stubborn attitude and arrogance will dilute whatever little good work done by him as Home Minister.
P Chidambaram has done some good work as Union Minister for Home Affairs. But his questionable role in the 2G Spectrum scam continues to tar his image. He cannot sweep the matter under the carpet.
Sir,
It is disappointing that the UPA government has chosen Mr Chidambaram to head the EGoM on Spectrum where his name is not completely cleared with cases pending in court. The government on its part could have used this opportunity to restore people's faith in democratic institutions... This act goes to show the insensitivity of the government towards public perception on corruption, leave alone their lack of governance. From a moral stand point, Mr Chidambaram should step aside like Mr Pawar and have someone else take this responsibility.
Sorry Chidambaram - wrong comparison - wheat, rice and sugar constitute
basic necessity - so no economist or any analyst will compare these
items with Ice cream which is definitely a luxury for a BPL or a poor
middle class person - hope that makes it clear to everybody
The school bully has been made the school captain. I doubt if Mr Chidambaram will come up with anything worthwhile in his new role. His earlier dealings in Telecom sector has not been very satisfying to the country while few private individuals did profit. With such confilict of interests, the Chairmanship of EoGM is going to be a failure.
After reading this article, wouldn't anyone be aghast that Mr.Chidambaram is back as Chairman of the EoGM dealing with the 2G spectrum matter? It would seem that the PM is eager to make the case against his government stronger!
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