‘How could govt levy 2001 spectrum rates in 2007?’
20 Nov 2012 6:40 AM IST
Reserve Bank of India governor D Subbarao on Monday, deposing as the prosecution witness in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, told a trial court he had questioned the fixing of Rs 1600 crore as spectrum fees by the DoT for pan-India telecom licence in 2007. Subbarao was then finance secretary in the government.
Subbarao is a key witness in the 2G case in which former telecom minister A Raja and others are facing trial. Besides Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja’s erstwhile private secretary RK Chandolia, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra, three top executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) — Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair— are facing trial in the case.
Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV director Sharad Kumar and Bollywood producer Karim Morani are also accused in the case. During the recording of his statement, Subbarao told the court he had written a letter on 22 November, 2007, to the then telecom secretary DS Mathur, in which he had questioned the spectrum fee of around Rs. 1,600 crore for pan India licence. He said that he had also questioned as to how the spectrum fee of Rs. 1,600 crore, which was fixed in 2001, could be applied in 2007.
‘I also questioned how the rate of Rs. 1,600 crore, determined in as far as back in 2001, could be applied for licences given in 2007..., he told the special CBI judge OP Saini.
CBI prosecutor also showed various files and notes of various departments concerned, including that of DoT and Ministry of Finance, to Subbarao during the recording of his statement.
During the later part of his deposition, Subbarao, who was the Finance Secretary from April 2007 to September 2008, said it cannot be said that the government suffered a loss in the 2G spectrum case in 2008 as in a policy decision the government has to make a balance even at the cost of sacrificing some revenue.
‘It is correct that while determining policy, the government has to make a balance between welfare maximisation and revenue maximisation. In this case if there was a sacrifice of some revenue, it cannot be said that the government suffered a loss,’ Subbarao told the court while being cross-examined by the defence counsels.
SC LIVID AT AFFIDAVIT FROM ‘UNDER SECY’
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to file a fresh affidavit in two days explaining why all the 2G spectrum was not put on auction on November 12. 'The government is very casual in dealing with the matter,' the SC said while turning down an affidavit filed by an under secretary-level officer. 'This affidavit cannot be accepted. It has been filed by under secretary officer. Our earlier order clearly said that the affidavit must be filed by a secretary-level officer. This is a deliberate action on the part of DoT,’ said the Supreme Court.
Subbarao is a key witness in the 2G case in which former telecom minister A Raja and others are facing trial. Besides Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja’s erstwhile private secretary RK Chandolia, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra, three top executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) — Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair— are facing trial in the case.
Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV director Sharad Kumar and Bollywood producer Karim Morani are also accused in the case. During the recording of his statement, Subbarao told the court he had written a letter on 22 November, 2007, to the then telecom secretary DS Mathur, in which he had questioned the spectrum fee of around Rs. 1,600 crore for pan India licence. He said that he had also questioned as to how the spectrum fee of Rs. 1,600 crore, which was fixed in 2001, could be applied in 2007.
‘I also questioned how the rate of Rs. 1,600 crore, determined in as far as back in 2001, could be applied for licences given in 2007..., he told the special CBI judge OP Saini.
CBI prosecutor also showed various files and notes of various departments concerned, including that of DoT and Ministry of Finance, to Subbarao during the recording of his statement.
During the later part of his deposition, Subbarao, who was the Finance Secretary from April 2007 to September 2008, said it cannot be said that the government suffered a loss in the 2G spectrum case in 2008 as in a policy decision the government has to make a balance even at the cost of sacrificing some revenue.
‘It is correct that while determining policy, the government has to make a balance between welfare maximisation and revenue maximisation. In this case if there was a sacrifice of some revenue, it cannot be said that the government suffered a loss,’ Subbarao told the court while being cross-examined by the defence counsels.
SC LIVID AT AFFIDAVIT FROM ‘UNDER SECY’
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to file a fresh affidavit in two days explaining why all the 2G spectrum was not put on auction on November 12. 'The government is very casual in dealing with the matter,' the SC said while turning down an affidavit filed by an under secretary-level officer. 'This affidavit cannot be accepted. It has been filed by under secretary officer. Our earlier order clearly said that the affidavit must be filed by a secretary-level officer. This is a deliberate action on the part of DoT,’ said the Supreme Court.
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