Kapil Sibal, minister of communications and IT has said that the centre will issue show cause notices to firms holding 85 licences questioning why their second-generation (2G) mobile permits should not be cancelled for suppression of information and use of forged documents, say reports. Another set of notices will be issued to 119 licensees for failing to roll out services in the stipulated one-year period.
Sibal said that the ministry believes that some of the companies might have suppressed facts and may have got an undue advantage in accessing licences. The notices are likely to be sent this week. He added that these firms will be given 60 days to reply and the centre could impose penalties or cancel mobile permits of companies after studying their replies.
The government will also ask the corporate affairs ministry to determine if Dubai-based Etisalat DB (earlier known as Swan), which got permits to operate in 15 circles, was a front for another telecoms company.
Sibal is acting on a report prepared by the Comptroller Auditor General of India (CAG), which said that as many as 85 of the 122 licences given to six companies, Uninor, Videocon, Loop Telecom, S Tel, Etisalat and Allianz Infratech, were illegal as these firms did not meet the eligibility criteria. These six companies had disclosed incomplete information and submitted fictitious documents and used fraudulent means for obtaining them.
Many companies were allowed to replace doctored and fictitious documents as late as 12 months after they submitted their applications. The auditor also added that many licensees had prior information and even had pre-dated demand drafts, allowing them to jump the queue.
