National Campaign Against Corruption - Petition to the Prime Minister of India

Q.What is the 2G Spectrum Scam?Ans.  In 2008, the union government has awarded pan India licenses and second generation telecom spectrum to 9 companies, in 122 circles for offering mobile telephony services. These licenses were awarded in an arbitrary and non-transparent manner for a paltry sum of `1658 crores. This abnormally low price was fixed without taking into account the remarkable increase in telephone density in the country, and the precious and finite spectrum was allocated on a first-come, first-served basis without calling for competitive bids. The government has also failed to lay down eligibility criteria for applicants and has arbitrarily advanced the cut-off date for considering applications. The subsequent sale of cornered spectrum by fly-by-night operators for many times the fee they paid the Government had caused enormous loss running into tens of thousands of crores of rupees to the public exchequer. Based on the subsequent auction of airwaves for third...

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Dear Friends,The CAG’s report on the 2G spectrum has proven beyond reasonable doubt that this is a scam of massive proportions involving corruption, arbitrariness, loss to the public exchequer, and abuse of authority at the highest levels of the government involving politicians, civil servants and even corporate houses. The CAG’s estimate (which was based on the prices paid by bidders in the auction of 3G spectrum) indicate that the Indian exchequer was defrauded to the extent of a staggering Rs. 1,52,000 crores!In the recent past, we have also witnessed the ugly and shameful corruption surrounding the Commonwealth Games and the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai. These are only a few scams that have seen the light of the day. Not a single day goes without some scam taking place somewhere in the country, and in a growing economy like India, in the absence of adequate safeguards, we can be certain of continued corruption.   Yet, the public debate seems to be focused...

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