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| SC verdict on 2G licences brings back focus on Chawla committee |
| Jyoti Mukul / New Delhi Feb 06, 2012, 00:59 IST |
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As the government tries to come to terms with what it wants to do with 2G spectrum that will be vacated after cancellation of 122 telecom licences, it may need to take cognizance of suggestions of a high-level committee on distribution of natural resources, including spectrum, that gave its report some time back.
Last week’s Supreme Court order that struck down the first come, first serve basis of issuing licences bundled with spectrum by erstwhile telecom minister A Raja brings back to relevance the committee’s recommendation on eliminating political and administrative ministries’ discretion.
Following submission of the report to a group of ministers on corruption in June 2011, the government had formed a committee of secretaries to examine it. But no substantial movement in streamlining processes has been made even as the UPA administration comes in for criticism in its handling of resources like spectrum and minerals. In its report, the committee, headed by former finance secretary Ashok Chawla, had asked the government to either empower the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India with the task of auctioning of spectrum bandwidth or create a new regulator for the purpose.
A senior government official said that around 60 of the 80 recommendations made by the committee on various sectors have been accepted and are in various stages of implementation but the remaining controversial suggestions, like the pricing of natural gas, mining and coal, besides regulatory issues relating to the telecom sector, are yet to be decided on. The government has not opened the committee’s report for any public debate. While upholding the auctioning process followed in the case of 3G spectrum and BWA licences, the committee had asked the government to firm up an inventory of how much spectrum would be available for commercial and defence purposes.
Besides, it made a case for making public a road map on when the spectrum would be available to avoid price distortions and prevent unrealistic bidding. Speaking to Business Standard after the SC verdict, Ashok Chawla said, “People should know how much resources are available and over what time period. There is no point in creating scarcity for a resource which is otherwise important.”
Besides the 2G spectrum for which there was no auctioning, all mineral resources, barring blocks for crude oil and gas, and coal bed methane, have not been given out through bidding or auctioning. “This (distribution of natural resources) is an issue that has been important for the government and that is the reason the government set up the committee. The Supreme Court judgement has put the spotlight back on the recommendations.” According to Chawla, it is important to create a distance between the line ministries and the process of giving out resources.
The committee had also recommended that spectrum holders be allowed to trade once they have acquired the bandwidth through auctioning. In the committee’s view auctioning of 3G and BWA, that fetched the government over Rs 1 lakh crore in 2010-11 had worked well. It said there was no need for changes in the bidding procedures though the discovered price could be used as a legacy in the bidding process.
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