The Hindu : Will Shourie do away with telecom advisory panels?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 09, 2003

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National

Will Shourie do away with telecom advisory panels?

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI MARCH 8. For a steadfast advocate of delinking political patronage and public sector institutions, the new Communications Minister, Arun Shourie, would be expected to take a hard look at the mushrooming telecom advisory committee (TAC) members.

The number of TAC members has now crossed 5,000 and applications for inducting more political activists close to the ruling party are piling up in Sanchar Bhavan. The present number is nowhere near the figure of 16,000 reached during Ram Vilas Paswan's stint at the Sanchar Bhavan. But many observers wonder whether there is any logic in reviving an institution that has lost relevance at a time when telecom liberalisation is on.

Initially, the BJP had agreed with this contention. The committees were abolished amid much fanfare towards the end of 2001 after the BJP gained control of the Communications Ministry with the exit of Mr. Paswan. But six months later, the pressures of realpolitik forced Pramod Mahajan to reverse the decision. He brought in personnel who had administered the TACs during the Sukh Ram and Paswan eras and revived the TACs towards the middle of last year.

The new lot of 5,000 TAC members receive a rent-free phone, thousands of free calls and even "travelling allowance" for attending the meetings. The annual outgo could be about Rs. 10 crores. The Government reasons that TAC members help bring phone users and operators into a "closer relationship.'' They also give public the confidence that their "grievances are properly represented and attended to.'' However, the Government has not imposed this obligation on private companies such as Bharti or Reliance who do not even have separate grievance redress cells. The perks of TAC members are shouldered by the two State-run phone companies — Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahangar Telephone Nigam Limited — at a time when the sector has become extremely competitive and the benefits of cross-subsidy that once accrued to the two PSUs have disappeared. The BSNL was even forced to take a loan in perpetuity from the Central Government to service its loss making phones in rural areas. Will Mr. Shourie opt for reforming or doing away with the TACs?

At a time when electoral considerations rather than economic logic has gained the upper hand, will the political establishment take kindly to such a move, wonder observers

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