According to DoT sources, at a meeting held today to discuss the issue, Paswan issued "express orders" that the licence should be restored to the company on payment of the undisputed amount, which comes to approximately Rs 150 crore and that EverGrowth be allowed to migrate to NTP99. The Minister is in favour of refering the matter to the Law Ministry for deciding the issue of the disputed amount - whose principal alone, minus the interest, amounts to Rs 218.5 crore, add sources.

The issue will now be refered to the Cabinet Committee for a final decision, inform sources. However, the DoT officials are believed to be opposed to the licence being restored to the company. According to them, the migration policy clearly states that any company can be allowed to migrate only after all disputes are settled and after it pays up the entire amount.

Pertinently, it is believed that last year, Soli Sorabjee, the Attorney General had adviced the government against restoring the licence without payment of the entire amount.

Officials fear that the EverGrowth case will stir a hornet's nest because the other companies, such as Aircell Digilink, Koshika, and Spice Telecom, who were directed to shell out the entire (disputed and undisputed) amount, before they were allowed to migrate, might rake up the issue.

The licence of EGTL was cancelled in December 1996, when it issued debentures worth Rs 250 crore to Essar. However, as per its current submission to the DoT, EGTL maintains that it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of JTM, which runs cellular services in Karnatak and Andhra Pradesh.