The PMO today dismissed suggestions that the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had sought to look the other way in issuance of controversial 2G spectrum licences and said suggestions had been made informally to the Department of Telecom to ensure that there was level-playing field between the existing operators and new entrants.
The Prime Minister's Office cited a communication of January 23, 2008 sent to DoT and insisted that it was in no way related to the “manner of grant of licence or charges for spectrum up to the threshold level”.
“A number of unwarranted inferences have been drawn from this noting without considering the issue that was being examined and the context in which these directions were conveyed.
“In particular, an impression is sought to be created that the noting was in response to the Prime Minister being informed of steps being taken which he knew were inappropriate but he looked the other way,” the PMO said in a statement. The clarification came in the wake of a media report regarding a noting of the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister conveying the directions of the Prime Minister on a matter relating to the allocation of spectrum.
The noting in question was recorded on January 23, 2008 and stated that ‘PM wants this informally shared with the Department (of Telecom). (He) does not want a formal communication and wants PMO to be at arms length.'
In its clarification, the PMO said the noting was on a note proposing consideration of an approach which included fixing of a ‘threshold' level of spectrum that each operator must have in order to function with a minimum level of efficiency.
The January 23, 2008 note also said that “existing operators holding spectrum above the threshold level may be allowed a certain amount of time to raise the subscriber levels to reach full utilisation of spectrum, failing which the excess spectrum may be withdrawn.
“New operators may be allotted spectrum only up to the threshold level on payment of the normal fees. “The balance spectrum may then be auctioned among all those who hold spectrum up to the threshold level,” the PMO statement said.