The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Wednesday submitted its final report on 2G spectrum allocation in which it has stated that the decision by the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology to give spectrum on a first come, first served basis has caused a loss of nearly Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the national exchequer.
“The entire process of spectrum allocation was undertaken in an arbitrary manner. The Prime Minister had stressed the need for a fair and transparent allocation of spectrum, and the Ministries of Finance, and Law and Justice had sought that the decision regarding spectrum pricing be considered by an Empowered Group of Ministers. Brushing aside these concerns and advices, the Department of Telecommunications, in 2008, proceeded to issue 122 new licences for 2G spectrum at 2001 prices, flouting all rules and procedures to be followed in a parliamentary democratic set-up,” the CAG said in its report.
“The Minister of Communications and IT, for no apparent logical or valid reasons, ignored the advice of Ministry of Law, and Ministry of Finance, avoided the deliberations of the Telecom Commission to allocate 2G spectrum, a scarce finite national asset, at less than its true value on flexible criteria and procedures adopted to benefit a few operators. TRAI, the regulator, also stood by as a helpless spectator when its recommendations were being either ignored or misused,” it added.
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