new delhi amid charges of favouring corporate entities on allocation of scarce natural resources such as telecom spectrum the government has set up a highpowered committee headed by former finance secretary ashok chawla to suggest a formula for efficient and transparent distribution of these resourcesthe committee which has key secretaries as members along with representatives from industry chambers is expected to suggest a roadmap for allocation of resources ranging from coal to water mining rights and spectrumthough the panel has roped in the centre for policy research to help it formulate an action plan the auction mechanism for spectrum for third generation 3g mobile telephony and broadband services is one of the factors being studied closely by auctioning radiowaves that carry signals the government had raked in over rs 1 lakh crorethe cabinet secretariat which has set up the committee has already held discussions with global investment banking firm nm rothschild that had devised the spectrum auction mechanismsources said the committee is expected to make generic recommendations on the overall mechanism and would also take a sectoral view the committee sources said is expected to review the pricing and policy issues in the four sectors to find models that do not discount public welfare at the altar of profit maximisationwhile such a debate has been running at a low key in the government for long this would be the first time exploitation of new age resources such as spectrum and traditional political dynamites like water usage would be put on the same keelat one end the government is engulfed in a raging scam over alleged underpricing of telecom spectrum to the benefit of private firms that then made a killing out of it at the other end the upa regime has been tackling rising concerns about crony capitalism in the mining business minimal taxes and royalties on the ore have yielded little for the government and the attendant displacement has caused alienation while giving rise to a new breed of overnight mining millionairesthe debate on allocation of coal blocks for development to private operations too has been mired in concerns about hiving off precious cheap source of energy without a longterm plan in mind