Chidambaram may head EGoM on telecom

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Home Minister P Chidambaram may head the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on the allocation of telecom spectrum, which was reconstituted on Friday after Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar declined to head it.

Official sources said Chidambaram's name tops the list of ministers who will be part of the EGoM from whose chairmanship Pawar recused earlier this week citing attempts to drag him into controversies.

Pawar's name does not figure as a member of the reconstituted ministerial panel. Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, I&B Minister Ambika Soni, Law Minister Salman Khurshid, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia continue to be members of the EGoM.

Sources said no date for the meeting of the EGoM has been fixed yet.

The EGoM was last week reconstituted after Pranab Mukherjee, who was heading it, resigned as Finance Minister to contest the Presidential elections. Pawar was named as the new Chairman of the ministerial panel and a meeting fixed for July 2

But Pawar first postponed the meeting of the EGoM, which had last met on June 5, and then approached Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recusing himself.

The EGoM is to decide on a minimum or base price for auction of telecom spectrum or airwaves.

The Supreme Court which in February cancelled 122 telecom licences issued during the tenure of the then telecom minister A. Raja in 2008, had asked the government to complete spectrum auction by August 31.