On
2.4.2015, in an interview given to PTI, the Communications Minister Shri
Ravishankar Prasad has stated,” This issue has always baffled me. BSNSL was in
Rs 10000 crore profit when Mr (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee left the office. It reported
about Rs 9000 crore loss under Dr Manmohan Singh. Which were the forces that
were keen to ensure that BSNL runs in loss, same with MTNL”. He is questioning
as if he does not know the causes for the losses to BSNL. This is nothing but pretending innocence. In
fact, is it not the Government of Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee which laid the foundation
for the losses to BSNL?
When
BSNL was being formed in the year 2000, several intellectuals as well as
telecom unions told that the formation of BSNL would lead to losses to it. But
ignoring all this, the Vajpayee Government converted telecom services under DoT
into BSNL on 1.10.2000. At the time of formation of BSNL, it was assured to
compensate BSNL for the losses faced by it on rural land line losses. The Prime
Minister Mr. Vajpayee had constituted a GoM (Group of Ministers) and the GoM
has assured the following:
“Financial
viability: (i) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd would be duly compensated for
discharging obligations in regard to rural telephony or any other uneconomic
service in accordance with any Government directive for implementation of
NTP-99. (ii) GoM has further assured that under no circumstances Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Ltd would be allowed to become non-viable as this would be a potential
instrument in the hands of the Government for achieving its NTP-99 objectives”
The
above assurance was mentioned in the Cabinet Note submitted by the GoM on
25.9.2000 for the approval of the Cabinet. But within two days, this assurance
was diluted and the Cabinet approved the following: “Government will
consider and provide a package of measures so that the viability of BSNL is not
impaired because of implementation of any socially desirable uneconomic
activity, such as rural telephony, undertaken by BSNL at the behest of
Government.”
It
is to be noted that while the Cabinet note prepared by the GoM assured to compensate
the loss of BSNL on rural landlines without mentioning any ceiling on how long
such compensation would be paid, the Cabinet approval is only for a limited
package applicable for a limited period for compensating BSNL’s losses on rural
landlines. Accordingly the Vajpayee Government at first approved for
reimbursement of license fee and spectrum charges to BSNL only until 2002-03.
It later extended it for one more year till 2003-04. It limited the moratorium
on payment of principal and interest on loan taken by BSNL at the time of its formation
( it was only a notional loan written in the books of BSNL without actually
paying to it) until March 2005 only. The UPA Government extended the reimbursement
of license fee and spectrum charge to BSNL for one more year, till 2005-06, of
course, with a reduced rate. Thus it is the Vajpayee Government which laid the
foundation for the losses to BSNL by limiting the assurance of compensation to
BSNL for its losses on land lines to a package applicable for a few years.
BSNL’s
losses on its rural landlines, on an average, were Rs 8000 crore per year since
2001-02to 2013-14.At this rate, The total loss for this period was estimated to
be around Rs 1,04,000 crores. But the
compensation paid to BSNL under various heads for the losses incurred by it on
rural landlines was Rs 41370 crores only. It is only 40% of its loss. While
thus refusing the full compensation justified for BSNL, the Vajpayee Government
had showered unjustifiable benefits on the private telecom operators. It
extended their license period from 10 years to 20 years and allowed them to pay
their license fee as a small share of their revenue annually, instead of paying
at one go their total license fee, as per the tender condition. The value of
these unfair concessions given to private operators was Rs 43000 crore, as per
the reply given by the UPA Government in the Parliament. Therefore the policy
of the Vajpayee Government for limiting the compensation to BSNL for its
continuous losses on its landlines to a package applicable for a limited period
is the cause for creating losses to BSNL subsequently.
The
Manmohan Singh Government had continued the same policy of Vajpayee and
restricted the compensation to BSNL until 2006-07 only and thereafter, stopped
it. Besides, during the tenure of the
Manmohan Singh Government, no GSM equipment could be procured by BSNL during
the period 2008 to 20132 due to the ill motivated cancellation of the equipment
tenders and as a result, BSNL suffered in mobile services market. The Manmohan
Singh Government has collected Rs 18500 crore from BSNL in 2010 in the name of
3G and BWA spectrum in an unjustified manner and depleted its cash reserves. Thus,
the losses to BSNL are due to the anti BSNL policies of Vajpayee and Manmohan
Singh Governments. Therefore it is a bluff on the part of the present
Communications Minister Ravishankar Prasad to absove Vajpayee Government from
the sin of making BSNL a loss making undertaking.
Modi
Government, in which Mr.Ravishankar Prasad is the Communications Minister, has
been intensifying the very same liberalization-privatization-globalization
policies of Mr. Manmohan Singh’s Government. Modi Government is devotedly immersed
in serving the Corporates and the rich and for this purpose attacking the PSUs,
the people’s welfare and the working class rights more and more.
If
Mr. Ravishankar Prasad is really serious for reviving BSNL, he should clarify
the stand of the Modi Government in which he is a minister, on the following
issues:
- The Manmohan Singh Government
decided in February 2012 for refunding Rs 6724 crores to BSNL for the BWA
spectrum returned by it in 6 circles. But Modi Government, instead of
refunding the entire amount in one go immediately, has allotted Rs 100
crores in the budget of 2014-15 and Rs 830 crore in the budget of 2015-16.
Why the amount is not being paid entirely and why it is allotting such
small amounts in the budget thus proposing to take at least one decade for
its refund? What you, as a Communications Minister, have done for seeing
that this refund of the entire amount of Rs 6724 crore is paid to BSNL
immediately?
- As per the recommendations of
the TRAI, Rs 1250 crore are to be paid to BSNL from the USO fund to
support it for the losses it incurred on its rural landlines during the
year 2012-13. Why your Governemnt is not paying this due amount to BSNL?
- Why your Government is not
coming forward to see that BSNL gets the required loan with nominal
interest for investing in the expansion of its net work? Why the
Government is reluctant to give guarantee to the bank for this loan to
BSNL? When your Government is showering concessions upon concessions to
the Corporates and the rich and issuing ordinances upon ordinances to take
away land from the farmers without their consent, for the benefit of the
Corporates, is not coming forward to stand as a surety for the BSNL to get
a soft loan?
Therefore the foundation for the
losses to BSNL was laid down by the policies of the Vajpayee Government and
those policies were further implemented by Manmohan Singh Government resulting
in losses to BSNL. If the Minister Mr.Ravishankar Prasad thinks that his
Government is different from that of Manmohan Singh’s Government, it should pay
the above said amounts of Rs 6724 crores and Rs 1250 crores to BSNL and should
see that BSNL gets the soft loan required for expanding and upgrading its
network.
కామెంట్లు లేవు:
కామెంట్ను పోస్ట్ చేయండి