Government seeks time for 2G auction

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Centre on Thursday moved the apex court and sought time till March 2013 to auction the 2G spectrum licences that were revoked by the court on February 2. The government said that planning and execution of auction is a gigantic task.

The government in its affidavit submitted that it has already undertaken detailed examination and is taking steps to formulate a process for spectrum allocation through auction process.

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The application has sought court’s clarification in accordance with the government’s roadmap. It said that the process commencing from the date of the receipt of TRAI recommendations may take at least 400 days.

The government, while referring 3G spectrum auction, said that it took 1,560 days for complete exercise. As a complicated task, it involves dealing with legacy issues and matters arising due to policy decisions, the petition said.

In pursuance of the court's order, the government said that services of the telecom operators would come to standstill, thereby causing inevitable disruption to their 69 million subscribers.