A Raja claims he allotted spectrum by book; his ministry disagrees

DNA; Mayank Aggarwal; Saturday, November 20,

Former Union telecom minister A Raja may be claiming that he went by the book in issuing 2G spectrum licences, his ministry seems to be unaware of any such book.

Former Union telecom minister A Raja

In reply to an RTI query by DNA, most departments under the telecom ministry said they were not aware of guidelines to be followed for clearing files.

In September 2010, when DNA asked the ministry of communication and information technology whether the Union cabinet minister or the minister of state had set any guidelines for clearing files, the departments of telecom and post and information technology came up with different answers, while the department of information and technology said there were no guidelines.

But the fact is the central secretariat manual of office procedure has laid down clear guidelines regarding movement of files.

In reply to another RTI query by DNA, six Union ministries said they did not follow any guidelines.

The department of telecom said the RTI application was not specifically addressed to it. “... you are requested to send the application specifically [to] CPIO of the department concerned, i.e. department of telecommunications, if you desire to have the information as you have asked.”

The department of posts, however, was “confused”, with 19 of its sections giving different replies. While some sections such as staff relation, legal cell, welfare/sports and medical said they had guidelines for clearing files, others came up with answers such as no guidelines or not concerned.