Minister pulls up MTNL top brass

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI, OCT 6. On his first full day at Sanchar Bhavan here on Friday after taking over as Union Communications Minister early last month, Mr. Pramod Mahajan took the top brass of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) to task for failing to properly market the existing wireless-in-local-loop (WiLL) and the newly- launched cellular mobile services.

Mr. Mahajan is understood to have expressed severe displeasure over the manner in which WiLL services have been marketed. Not many in the Capital are aware that MTNL has such a service, much less the fact that as many as 20,000 lines can be offered to subscribers instantly. Sources said the MTNL Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Narendra Sharma, was instructed to immediately release these unutilised lines to the public. In line with the Minister's instructions, the launch will take place this Sunday.

The Minister also expressed concern over the tardy land-line services provided by MTNL in the Capital. The official fault rate for phones provide by MTNL Delhi is the highest in the country, partly because of recalcitrant staff and an inaccessible bureaucracy. Its ability to provide customer satisfaction such as new phones or transfer of phones also leaves much to be desired.

Unable to find time to review the telecom sector at the micro level for over a month after displacing Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan as Communications Minister, Mr. Mahajan, however, kept track of the burning issues in the sector. Recently, he persuaded the Union Cabinet to direct Bharti Cellular to pay dues totalling nearly Rs. 500 crores in cash, thus settling a festering dispute. In turn, the company was given 17 telecom licences as well as the right to have its case heard before an independent arbitrator. A decision on sale of majority stake in Hindustan Teleprinters Limited has also been taken.

Mr. Mahajan will now be turning his attention to the health of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) which continues to provide phone services to an overwhelming proportion of the population despite the inroads made by cellular companies. In anticipation of a thorough review, the BSNL Board has started drawing up plans to effectively market its value-added services such as Will and cellular mobile.

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