The one-man committee that went into the processes and procedures followed by the Department of Telecommunications in the allocation of licences and spectrum between 2001 and 2009 has identified officials responsible for serious lapses in implementing the telecom policy transparently and fairly.
Justice (retd.) Shivraj Patil, who submitted a 150-page report to Union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday, said: “I have identified the officials on whose part there were deficiency or lapses.”
Asked about the alleged involvement of the former Communications Minister, A. Raja, Mr. Patil declined comment. “The Central Bureau of Investigation is dealing with the criminal culpability…that is a different issue. My report deals with the procedures followed by the DoT while granting licences and allocating spectrum during 2001-09 [a period that covers both the NDA and UPA regimes].”
Mr. Patil said there was some difficulty in procuring original documents in some cases as they were with the CBI probing the scam. “However, the copies were produced on my reference.”
Later talking to journalists, Mr. Sibal said: “Some officials have been named, and some procedures have been commented upon...What the future course of action should be for the grant of spectrum has been commented upon. The report will be thoroughly studied and examined by the government and appropriate action taken thereafter.”
Mr. Sibal formed the committee after the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report on the spectrum allocation in 2008 said the “presumptive loss” from the alleged scam ranged from Rs.57,000 crore to Rs.1.76 lakh crore (as per various methods adopted).
