Jagmohan hits out at telecom cos

NEW DELHI, FEB 10: Communications Minister Jagmohan today asked the private telecom operators to justify on legal, constitutional and com...

NEW DELHI, FEB 10: Communications Minister Jagmohan today asked the private telecom operators to justify on legal, constitutional and commercial basis their failure to honour their contractual agreements on licence fees to the government. The telecom sector has run up Rs 3,700 crore of defaults through these unpaid licence fees.

Criticising the private operators for non-payment of licence fees of on the grounds of poor health, the minister said quot;how is that some companies have sold their equity at a premium if they were not doing good business.quot; Jagmohan was speaking at a Telecom Conference organised by the CII.

How should the public, parliament, auditor general and judiciary view the non-recovery of a whopping Rs 3,700 crore dues to the exchequer from the telecom operators after signing licence agreements, Jagmohan asked telecom operators.

Jagmohan also questioned the various operators 8211; metro cellular operators, circle cellular operators and basic service operators using a common platform to demand a waiver in licence fees when each company signed a separate agreement for its own operations and all had different problems on the ground.

The minister also said that the government would do everything within its powers to empower the Telecom regulatory Authority of India TRAI. He also said that the DoT8217;s corporatisation process was on track and these were issues which the government have assured private investors and 8220;there is no need for anybody to doubt the government8217;s intentions8221;.

Jagmohan agreed with William Clossey, Head of International Law and Government Affairs ATamp;T, that those who had paid licence fees should not be put to disadvantage vis-a-vis those who had not.

When Vijay Kapoor, chairman of CII8217;s telecom committee asked when the government would remove the fog from the telecom sector as the one outside in Delhi, this morning, Jagmohan said the fog in the telecom sector would be cleared as soon as operators cleared their pending dues.