New Delhi: The Central government has moved the Supreme Court in the 2G case, saying it needs time till November 12 to start fresh auction. The government has also sought another 40 days to complete the auction and allocate licences.
The Supreme Court had earlier set an August 31 deadline. The decision to move court was taken in the EGoM headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday.
"Auctioneer has given us schedule...we will approach the Supreme Court to place before them the fact what government has done. Also, place before them that in terms of this schedule, it is not possible to conduct auction by August 31," Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said after EGoM meet.
After cancelling 122 telecom licences in February, the Supreme Court had asked the government to complete the 2G spectrum auction by August 31 and extended the validity of quashed licences till September 7.
On Monday, the Department of Telecom had selected Times Internet Ltd (TIL) as auctioneer to operate the process.
The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has finalised Rs 14,000 crore as the minimum price for 5 Mhz spectrum in 1800 Mhz band, and Rs 18,200 crore for 5 Mhz in 800 Mhz band.
The base price approved by Cabinet was 22 per cent lower than Rs 18,000 crore minimum rate suggested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). It is, however, 7 times higher than the price new companies had paid in 2008 to get spectrum from the then Telecom Minister A Raja.
(With additional information from PTI)
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