Former TRAI chairman testifies in 2G case

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Nripendra Mishra on Thursday told a CBI special court hearing the 2G case that an auction was held between October 2005 ans March 2006 for collecting entry fees from telecom firms.

Testifying as a prosecution witness, Mishra told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini that the telecom policy was strictly in accordance with the recommendation of TRAI during his tenure as secretary, department of telecommunications (DoT).

"At that time, the entry fee charged was as recommended by TRAI and discovered by auction and it was different for different service areas," said Mishra.

According to the CBI, Mishra was secretary, DoT, from October 2005 to March 2006. He later served as chairman of TRAI, for three years till March 2009.

Mishra said ex-telecom secretary and accused Siddharth Behura had written a letter to him in January 2008, saying the government's action on the spectrum issue was "in accordance with the established policy".

He said that the recommendation of TRAI was necessary before issuing the licences.

CBI has alleged that former telecom minister A. Raja allotted the second generation (2G) radiowaves in an arbitrary manner and caused a huge loss to the government exchequer.

According to the government auditor, the 2G scam, allegedly masterminded by Raja, pertained to a biased distribution of mobile airwaves and operating licences, in lieu of kickbacks, to telecom firms that could have cost the treasury up to Rs.1.76 lakh crore in lost revenue.

Nineteen individuals and six companies are accused in the case. Except for Raja, Behura and Chandolia, all other arrested accused have been released on bail.