One-man panel to begin spectrum probe on Monday

Former Supreme Court judge Shivaraj V Patil, appointed on Thursday by information technology minister Kapil Sibal as a one-man committee to look into the procedures involved in the grant of telecom licences and spectrum allocation from 2001 to 2009, will start work from Monday.

Terming the job ''onerous and of great responsibility,'' Patil told a newspaper in Bangalore that the terms of reference would be finalised during a meeting on the first day of the sitting.

''I will try to do it in the given time and also do not want to sacrifice content or quality. However, I may seek one or two weeks more, if required,'' he said on the four weeks' time given to him to complete the task and the pressure involved. He acknowledged that the committee had the big task of going through a vast set of documents.

Patil made it clear that he was not going to seek expansion of the terms of reference to include the private telecom operators accused in the scam. ''It is for the government to expand the terms of reference.''

When his attention was drawn to reports of several committees that did not see the light of the day, he said, ''I have reasonable expectations from the government that the report will not be [treated] like others.''

On the Bharatiya Janata Party's criticism on the setting up of the committee, Patil said, ''I am not disturbed. I am concerned only about the task and once the work commences, I will not be bothered about the Congress, the BJP or the UPA. It [criticism by the BJP] is their opinion and I have no opinion on it.''