Manju Madhavan,then the Member-Finance in the Telecom Commission,had sent a note recommending revision of rates at which the licences were being granted. But Telecom Minister A Raja questioned her integrity and accused her of working on behalf of vested interests. Madhavan sought voluntary retirement after proceeding on leave in 2007. When contacted,Madhavan declined to comment. Thanks for calling me,but I dont want to speak on the matter, she said. In her note,Madhavan had argued that the rates should be revised as they did not reflect the current market dynamics. She had proposed three alternatives to the minister,which would have fetched the government higher revenues. The then DoT Secretary had endorsed her views on the file. Since the rates have not been revised and the Finance Secretary has raised the issue,I am of the view that this issue should be examined in depth before any further steps are taken in this matter, Madhavan had said in her note,which was sent on receipt of a letter from the then finance secretary,D Subbarao,wherein concern was expressed that the licence fee was based on 2001 bids. Reacting strongly to Madhavans note,Raja wrote in the file: The matter of entry fee has been deliberated in the department several times in the light of various guidelines issued by the department and recommendations of TRAI. And,accordingly a decision has been taken that entry fee need not be revised. Further admonishing Madhavan,he said: On the above lines,(the) Secretary Telecom has also replied to the Finance Secretarys letter. Member-Finance should have checked the facts with the Secretary,Telecom before putting up the note on the file. He added: These type of continuous confusions observed on the file,whoever be the officer concerned,does not show any legitimacy and integrity but only their vested interests. Concerned officers have neither up-to-date knowledge of Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) guidelines nor have bothered to go through the file. Madhavan went on leave soon after this,and later sought voluntary retirement from service. Raja had wanted to give licences for a pan-India operation for Rs 1,651 crore,a rate fixed through auction of licences in 2001. The language used by Raja and the posture adopted by him clearly bring out what the Comptroller and Auditor Generals report has said that the minister was determined to grant the licences to his favoured firms on the terms and conditions which best suited him.
