Why am I paying for DoT's goof-up: Shahid Balwa

Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa today claimed innocence in court, saying he had no role in allotment of 2G spectrum to his firm at the cost of Tatas or anyone else.

It was the Department of Telecom which took all the decisions regarding the grant of licences to telecom firms and left out Tata, he told Special Judge OP Saini while advancing in person his arguments opposing corruption and other penal charges invoked by the CBI against him.

Refuting CBI allegations that he plotted with former Telecom Minister A Raja and others to pocket 2G spectrum licence in lucrative Delhi circle at the cost of the Tatas, Balwa pointed out that even today 12 MHz spectrum is available for allotment in the national capital circle.

"Even today 12 MHz of spectrum is available in the Delhi circle. What is stopping the Department of Telecom to allocate the spectrum to Tata in Delhi circle which needs only 4.4 MHz of spectrum here," Balwa contended.

"If at all anything is done, it has been done by the DoT, and not by me. Why am I facing the criminal prosecution?," Balwa asked the court.

The real estate tycoon-turned-telecom czar told the court that it was in March 2007 that Raja got a report from the Wireless Planning and Coordination wing (WPC) saying no spectrum was available in Delhi circle.

"In November 2007, however, all of a sudden 15 MHz spectrum appeared in Delhi circle and nobody knew how did it appear," he said, adding that as per the DoT website, even today 12 MHz Spectrum is available in the Delhi circle.