New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS): The union cabinet Thursday approved refunding Rs.11,258.48 crore to MTNL and BSNL which the two state-run telecom firms had paid for fourth generation (4G) spectrum in the 2010 auction.

“BSNL will be refunded Rs.6,724.51 crore and MTNL will be given Rs.4,533.97 crore in due course... it would be done in a staggered manner over a period of time,” Manish Tewari, information and broadcasting minister, told reporters after a cabinet meeting here.

He said these refunds will help in the economic revival of the two companies.

The proposal was approved by the Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, tasked to chart the course of profitability of both PSUs in its last meeting on Sep 12.

BSNL had offered to surrender spectrum in six large circles -- Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh -- while MTNL had offered to give up spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai.