Pawar-led panel to decide on 2G spectrum auction on Monday

An empowered group of ministers on telecom headed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar will meet on Monday to decide on the auction of 2G spectrum, official sources said today.

The empowered group of ministers (EGoM), earlier headed by the then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, was to have met on 21 June, but the meeting was deferred and the panel been reconstituted after Mukherjee resigned to contest the presidential elections.

''The EGoM will now be headed by Mr Pawar,'' the official said, adding that the Monday meeting will decide on issues relating to auction of 2G spectrum.

The EGoM is expected to discuss crucial issues of high spectrum price recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the sector regulator. Besides, the EGoM is expected to review payment terms and network roll-out obligations for auction of spectrum due to be held before 31 August.

TRAI has recommended a base price of Rs3,622 crore per MHz of spectrum, which works out to over Rs18,000 crore for pan-India spectrum for new companies and for those companies that have to buy spectrum afresh after the Supreme Court cancelled the allocation of spectrum to 122 companies on 2 February.

The Supreme Court had, on 2 February 2012, cancelled 122 2G telecom licences issued during the tenure of tainted former telecom minister A Raja, and had directed the government to complete fresh spectrum auction by June, which has since been extended to 31 August.

Besides, TRAI had recommended that excess spectrum of 2x2.4 MHz be immediately taken back from MTNL.

The matter, however, is sub-judice as MTNL has obtained a stay order on it from the Supreme Court consequent to appeal against TDSAT judgment in 2007 and notice to BSNL and MTNL to surrender excess spectrum held by them.