2G lapses probe committee tenure extended

NEW DELHI - The Department of Telecommunications (DOT) Wednesday said it had extended till Jan 31 the tenure of the committee set up to look into the procedures adopted by it during the years 2001 to 2009 for allocating second generation airwaves to telecom companies.

The one-man committee, of retired Supreme Court justice Shivraj V. Patil, is expected to identify instances of lack of transparency in the issuance of spectrum and telecom access service licences and whether there was a violation of the policy enunciated by the DOT itself.

The probe committee will also suggest remedial measures in that regard.

A. Raja was forced to resign as communications minister last year after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) indicted him in the spectrum allocation scam, which it said could have caused losses between Rs.58,000 crore ($12.8 billion) and Rs.1.76 lakh crore ($40 billion) to the exchequer.

Raja is alleged to have sold spectrum licences at prices much lower than the market rate.