<p>With ISRO making public only parts of two reports into the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, murmurs of witch-hunt against the four retired scientists are gaining ground.<br /><br />The ISRO uploaded on its website only the conclusions and recommendations of a report by a five-member panel led by former CVC Pratyush Sinha and Volume 1 of a two-member committee of B.K. Chaturvedi and Roddam Narasimha. ISRO also uploaded a statement on both the committees and the follow up action on their recommendations.<br /><br />Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Radhakrishnan had recently announced that the reports of the two committees would be made public. But the government approved release of some portions.<br /><br />"We have released what has been approved by the government. The government has to decide on making public the remaining portions," ISRO director (publications and public relations) S. Satish told IANS.<br /><br />Some portions of the Chaturvedi-Narasimha panel have been withheld under Section 8 (1) (a) of Right to Information Act 2005.<br /><br />The release of only some portions has led to speculation among scientists that a witch-hunt is on against the four former scientists, including retired ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair.<br /><br />Nair was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1998 and Padma Vibhushan in 2009.<br />According to ISRO officials, Nair is a go getter. And it may be true that there have been procedural lapses in concluding the Devas deal. </p>.<p><br />"As to the procedural lapses, all I have to say is that we had followed the earlier practise and nothing new was followed," A. Bhaskaranarayana, a former scientific secretary at ISRO, told IANS.<br /><br />Bhaskaranarayana is one of the four space scientists blacklisted from any government job or membership in a government committee.<br /><br />The three others are Nair, K.R. Sridharamurthi, former executive director of Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO, and K.N. Shankara, a former director of the ISRO satellite centre.<br />ISRO officials told IANS on the condition of anonymity that the action against the four space scientists was due to a combination of procedural lapse in concluding the Devas deal and vindictive action.<br /><br />Nair was not available for comments.As per the deal, Antrix was to provide 70 MHz S-Band spectrum to Devas, which is into multimedia services. Antrix would provide the spectrum by leasing out transponders of two satellites to be built mainly for Devas.<br />The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) estimated the loss to the exchequer to the tune of Rs.2 lakh crore because of the deal. The government later scrapped the deal.</p>
<p>With ISRO making public only parts of two reports into the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, murmurs of witch-hunt against the four retired scientists are gaining ground.<br /><br />The ISRO uploaded on its website only the conclusions and recommendations of a report by a five-member panel led by former CVC Pratyush Sinha and Volume 1 of a two-member committee of B.K. Chaturvedi and Roddam Narasimha. ISRO also uploaded a statement on both the committees and the follow up action on their recommendations.<br /><br />Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Radhakrishnan had recently announced that the reports of the two committees would be made public. But the government approved release of some portions.<br /><br />"We have released what has been approved by the government. The government has to decide on making public the remaining portions," ISRO director (publications and public relations) S. Satish told IANS.<br /><br />Some portions of the Chaturvedi-Narasimha panel have been withheld under Section 8 (1) (a) of Right to Information Act 2005.<br /><br />The release of only some portions has led to speculation among scientists that a witch-hunt is on against the four former scientists, including retired ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair.<br /><br />Nair was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1998 and Padma Vibhushan in 2009.<br />According to ISRO officials, Nair is a go getter. And it may be true that there have been procedural lapses in concluding the Devas deal. </p>.<p><br />"As to the procedural lapses, all I have to say is that we had followed the earlier practise and nothing new was followed," A. Bhaskaranarayana, a former scientific secretary at ISRO, told IANS.<br /><br />Bhaskaranarayana is one of the four space scientists blacklisted from any government job or membership in a government committee.<br /><br />The three others are Nair, K.R. Sridharamurthi, former executive director of Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO, and K.N. Shankara, a former director of the ISRO satellite centre.<br />ISRO officials told IANS on the condition of anonymity that the action against the four space scientists was due to a combination of procedural lapse in concluding the Devas deal and vindictive action.<br /><br />Nair was not available for comments.As per the deal, Antrix was to provide 70 MHz S-Band spectrum to Devas, which is into multimedia services. Antrix would provide the spectrum by leasing out transponders of two satellites to be built mainly for Devas.<br />The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) estimated the loss to the exchequer to the tune of Rs.2 lakh crore because of the deal. The government later scrapped the deal.</p>