5 Indian Bureaucrats Around 2G Spectrum: Good, Bad and Ugly...

A DAY after the Supreme Court gave a monumental verdict and cancelled all 122 telecom licenses awarded by A Raja and his team, BoI (babusofindia.com) has identified 5 bureaucrats who played as hero, villain and supporting roles in this multi-billion dollar telecom saga.

Manju Madhavan: The Officer Who Flagged the 2G Scam

In this maze of billion dollar 2G spectrum scam, here is a bureaucrat who remained an unsung hero. She is 1971 batch Indian Revenue Service officer Manju Madhavan who reportedly flagged the 2G scam. Known to be an upright officer Ms Madhavan resigned as Member (Finance), department of telecom after getting upset with her minister A Raja. A doctorate in psychology, Ms Madhavan attended a programme on fiscal de-centralization and financial management of regional and local governments at Harvard University, and then a management development programme at IIM, Bangalore.
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The Bureaucrat Who Spotted the Scam

Vinod Rai: The Man Who Scripted a Disaster for UPA-II

Had this 1972 batch retired IAS not given a controversial tag of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the 2G spectrum scam, it would have probably been kept under the wraps. But Vinod Rai, who was incidentally appointed as Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) just a day before 2G licences were announced, decided to take on everyone to unravel the 2G truth. And he continued his crusade despite being a target at many forums including JPC. Rai in another report even dragged the PMO for the Commonwealth Games fiasco.
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Rai's Closed-Door Conclave at Shimla

Siddharth Behura: Signatory of a Monumental Mistake?

Siddharth Behura, who as the telecom secretary signed the controversial 2G licenses announced on January 8, 2008, was incidentally a key officer responsible for the liberalization of the industrial sector in India way back in 1991. But today, he is infamous for his alleged role in doling out licences to ineligible telecom companies which the Supreme Court finally struck down. The 1973 batch UP cadre IAS who was with environment ministry between 2005 and 2007 when A Raja was the environment minister, said he had no option but to implement the minister’s decision. “The relationship between the minister and secretary is a very tenuous one”, Behura had earlier told a daily. But he was arrested in February 2011, and had remained in Tihar jail for nearly one year.
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Behura: From Team Manmohan to Team Raja

RK Chandolia: A Private Affair

RK Chandolia, a 1984 batch Indian Economic Service officer, is one of many officers of elite IAS and allied services of Indian administration who have served as private secretaries to ministers. Nothing unusual about it considering ministers always handpick one of their trusted officers as private secretaries. But he came under the CBI net after his boss A Raja who is still languishing at Tihar jail, became the main accused in the 2G scam. Chandolia may now be out in bail, but the case against him is still on.
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Dos and Don’ts for a Minister’s Private Secretary

Shyamal Ghosh: A Shocker After 9 Years

Nine years after he retired as telecom secretary, 1965 batch Gujarat cadre IAS Shyamal Ghosh woke up in one fine morning in November last year to find CBI sleuths knocking at his home in New Delhi. The reason? The investigating agency wanted to raid the residence of Ghosh who was telecom secretary when BJP leader Pramod Mahajan was the minister. The CBI believes that the policy of allotting airwaves in 2002 led to the loss of Rs 508 crore to the exchequer. There were raids in offices of telecom majors, Airtel and Vodafone, which are the supposed beneficiaries of NDA’s telecom policies.
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Ghosh: Was He BJP’s Behura?

CBI raids residences of Behura, Chandolia and two other officials

INDIA'S top investigating agency CBI on Wednesday raided the residences of four bureaucrats in addition to Delhi and Chennai premises of former telecom minister A Raja in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.

The bureaucrats whose residences were raided in wee hours on Wednesday are Siddhartha Behura, former telecom secretary and 1973 batch retired IAS, RK Chandolia, a 1984 batch Indian Economic Service, K Sridhar, Member Telecom Commission and A K Srivastava, former Deputy Director General in the department of telecom, according to reports quoting CBI sources.

Behura, who is now working as chairman of C-DoT Alcatel-Lucent Research Centre based in Chennai post retirement, had claimed that when he joined office as telecom secretary on January 1, 2008, all decisions with regard to granting of licences were taken either verbally or on files. The licences were announced on January 8, 2008.

But Behura is considered to be in good books of A Raja even before he had joined telecom ministry. Behura was an additional secretary in environment ministry between 2005 and 2007 when A Raja was the environment minister.

RK Chandolia, who had served as private secretary to A Raja was later promoted as economic adviser in the department of telecommunications who had reportedly played a key role in appointments in the state-owned firms like Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). Also, it’s alleged that he was reporting to the DoT secretary directly which many say is a clear proof of jumping the official structure.

Both Chandolia and A K Srivastava were shifted out of the DoT after Kapil Sibal was given charge as telecom minister.

The CBI raids is a part of an investigation of a Rs 22,000 crore telecom scam. The investigating agency had earlier registered a case on October 21, 2009 against unknown Department of Telecom officials and private persons and companies connected to the doling out of telecom licences.

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Private lessons from Chandolia saga

Behura, the poster boy of 1991 liberalisation

Action and Appointments

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the following appointments:

a) Ms Naini Jayaseelan, a 1980 batch UT cadre IAS as adviser, Planning Commission in the rank of additional secretary.

b) Arbind Prasad, a 1980 batch Bihar cadre IAS, presently joint secretary, ministry of social justice and empowerment as advisor, Planning Commission in the rank of additional secretary.

c) Shyam S.Agarwal, a 1980 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS, as additional secretary, department of commerce on in-situ basis, by temporarily upgrading the post.

d) Upendra Tripathy, a 1980 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, as additional secretary in cabinet secretariat, on in-situ basis, by temporarily upgrading the post.

e) Nandita Chatterjee, a 1980 batch West Bengal cadre IAS, as DDG, CAPART, under the Department of Rural Development, in the rank of additional secretary, on in-situ basis, by temporarily upgrading the post.

f) Satish Balram Agnihotri, a 1980 batch Orissa cadre IAS, as Director General of Shipping in the rank of additional secretary.

Siddhartha Behura, the bureaucrat who signed 2G licence documents was an icon of 1991 liberalization process

Siddhartha Behura, who as the telecom secretary signed the controversial 2G licences announced on January 8, 2008, was incidentally a key officer responsible for the liberalization of the industrial sector in India way back in 1991. When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, then finance minister pioneered the liberalization process in 1991, it was Behura who as a joint secretary in Department of Industrial Development successfully formulated India’s New Industrial Policy, 1991.

Behura, a 1973 batch UP cadre IAS joined the Department of Industrial Development as a director in 1989 and got promoted as joint secretary in 1991. He continued with the department till the end of 1994. Not just that, Behura became the first ex-officio secretary of the newly-created Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) which was responsible for formulating policies for entry of foreign investors into India and also attracting foreign investment into the country.

Behura’s name has been discussed in power corridor ever since India’s auditor, CAG, found telecom department responsible for a revenue loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore while doling out 2G spectrum licences, forcing minister A Raja to resign. (In Picture: Behura with then telecom minister Raja, File photo) On Thursday, Supreme Court asked investigating agency CBI for its inability to question former telecom minister A Raja and telecom secretary in the 2G spectrum scam, and went to the extent of saying that the agency was “beating around the bush” when “illegality is prima facie evident.”

Recently, Behura told an Indian newspaper, Financial Express, that he only implemented the decision taken by the minister in the fairest possible manner as there was no other alternative. He had claimed that when he joined office as telecom secretary on January 1, 2008, all decisions with regard to granting of licences were taken either verbally or on files. “I had no option but to implement the minister’s decision. The relationship between the minister and secretary is a very tenuous one and I would not like to go into it, but my record is clean,” he told the newspaper. In fact, his predecessor DS Mathur has come out in media saying that he had refused to abide by his minister so far as the 2G licences were concerned. Mathur retired as the telecom secretary on December 31, 2007.

Behura, who had also served as CEO of Noida, was with environment ministry between 2005 and 2007 when A Raja was the environment minister. Just before joining as the telecom secretary, he was a special secretary in the ministry of environment and forests.

Immediately after his retirement as telecom secretary on September 30, 2009, Raja made him the chairman of C-DoT Alcatel-Lucent Research Centre based in Chennai. 

Telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar says “no” for now on CAG suggestions of taking back spectrums

AS PRESSURE on telecom minister A Raja to resign got mounted both inside and outside the Parliament in the wake of 2G spectrum scam, his secretary Rentala Chandrashekhar, 1975 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS, remained composed though he chose to take on the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for its suggestions on pulling away of spectrums.

While talking to a group of industrialists in New Delhi on Thursday, R Chandrasekhar said there is no proposal before the Department of Telecom to take back any spectrums from any of players as suggested by CAG. The meeting was organized by industry lobby Assocham.

In fact, these days there have been more gossips than serious work in Sanchar Bhawan housing the Department of Telecom that was pulled up by CAG for allocating precious 2G spectrum at the throw away price of Rs 9,000 crore leading the government t lose revenues worth estimated Rs 176,000 crore.

Though the alleged scam is likely to have political fallouts including possible sacking of the minister himself, it has raised many questions against senior bureaucrats. PJ Thomas, current Central Vigilance Commissioner, for example, is still hauled up for his role of defending the 2G auction when he was telecom secretary. For the record, he became DoT secretary only after the reported scam was over thereby there is no direct involvement of him in any financial irregularities.

But there have been questions now why did CVC wait for the retirement of DoT secretary Siddharth Behura, a 1973 batch UP cadre IAS, on September 30, 2009, before the case was transferred to the CBI? The case was handed over to the CBI only in October 2009.

Global Window: China closes lobbying offices

China has closed 625 local government lobbying offices in Beijing. Those offices are widely considered a symbol of bloated bureaucracy and abuse of public resources. The numbers of such offices located in various parts of Beijing have dramatically risen in recent years as it was easy for local governments to lobby for central government funding if they were located near the capital.