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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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. 

Power corridors witness an action-packed month-end as many race for key secretary posts

IT WILL be an action–packed month-end in Indian power corridors as 15 senior bureaucrats at the level of secretary, being posted at the Centre and states, will retire on September 30, allowing many others compete for key positions. Among those who are retiring this months include health secretary and 1972 batch UP cadre IAS Naresh Dayal, telecom secretary and 1973 batch UP cadre IAS Siddhartha Behura, secretary of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) and 1974 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS Jarnail Singh to name a few. Amongst the high-profile ones retiring at the state level are chief secretary of Punjab and 1974 batch Punjab cadre IAS Ramesh Inder Singh and chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh and 1973 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS P Ramakanth Reddy. According to media reports, Ajit Kumar Seth, secretary, planning & coordination in the Cabinet Secretariat, Atul Chaturvedi of department of fertilisers, Anil Kumar of department of women and child development, and parliamentary affairs secretary P J Thomas are vying for telecom secretary’s post. Both the health and telecom secretary’s posts are quite significant in the backdrop of intervention related to swine flue and imminent auction of 3G spectrum for third generation mobile telephony. Telecom secretary Behura is tipped to be the chairman of C-DoT Alcatel-Lucent Research Centre which is a joint venture initiative between India’s telecom department and French company Alcatel-Lucent.

Justice Sinha is top contender to become TDSAT chairman Justice S B Sinha, former judge of the Supreme Court is tipped to become the next chairman of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) is taking a call on his name. Incumbent Justice Arun Kumar has already retired. Justice Sinha could be given a two-year term. According to reports, steel secretary P K Rastogi’s name has also been referred before ACC for the post of administrative member.