New Delhi:
In a report submitted to the government last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India pegged the losses to the national exchequer due to the 2G spectrum allocation at a mind-boggling Rs. 1.76 lakh crore. But a letter accessed through Right to Information (RTI) Act suggests that CAG could have hiked the 2G loss estimate.
In the letter, the Director General of Audit (Post & Telecommunications), RP Singh, puts the losses at Rs 2,645 crore (on the basis of inflation costs). Singh conducted the 2G audit. The final report however pegged the "presumptive losses" at Rs 1.76 lakh crore (based on 3G auction prices). This hints at a possible difference of opinion within the CAG over the figure.
Since it came into public domain, the estimated loss figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore has been slammed by many including Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal. He had labeled it as "utterly erroneous and without any basis."
The Joint Parliamentary Committee or the JPC that is studying the swindle has questioned the discrepancy in the figures and has asked if the CAG overruled its own lead auditor. It has also sought details of of how CAG calculated the losses.
The government's auditor in its report had also indicted former Telecom Minister A Raja for deliberately undervaluing 2G spectrum in 2008 and selling it to companies that he favored, even though they were largely ineligible for 2G licenses. The scam cost Raja his job. He is currently lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail. The scam has also seen DMK MP Kanimozhi and some corporate bigwigs going to jail.