Retired official questions CAG report on 2G scam

The 2G spectrum allocation scandal took a new twist on Friday, with a former senior official of the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) office questioning the loss figure of Rs1.76 lakh crore and also the role of BJP leader Murali Manohar Joshi in 'influencing' the final report".
 
R P Singh, former director-general, audit (telecommunications) at the CAG, said he had disowned the final report on the 2G spectrum allocation case and that he had been kept out of the report-making process when it was being finalised.

''After completing the audit of the ministry of telecom, which was under my direct charge, I prepared a draft audit report covering each and every aspect,'' Singh told reporters.

Singh said as a subordinate to Vinod Rai, the CAG, there was not much he could do, especially when his boss had given written instructions on how he wanted the report to emerge. ''I sent a report which calculated a loss of Rs2,645 crore,'' said Singh. ''This was on May 31, 2010. After this my audit team was attached with CAG headquarters under deputy CAG Rekha Gupta.''

''In July 2010, I was sent a heavily revised report, and asked to issue it to the ministry of finance and department of telecommunication,'' said Singh. ''There was little I could do when I got a written instruction.''

According to him, his report carried two types of figures indicating loss recovery based on Rs1,658 crore that was charged for giving out the pan-India licence along with the spectrum.

''Another figure which I had indicated not as exactly as a loss but that amount that can be recovered,'' he added. ''I found some people having more spectrum than what is provided under contractual agreement.''