LS passes TRAI Bill

NEW DELHI, MARCH 13: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a Bill to strengthen the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI and set up a tri...

NEW DELHI, MARCH 13: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a Bill to strengthen the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRAI and set up a tribunal to settle all disputes, with Communications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan announcing that all district headquarters would have internet connections by June 2002.

As the Opposition charged the government with rushing through the Bill and earlier promulgating an ordinance quot;bypassing and ignoringquot; Parliament, Paswan said the TRAI would have powers to fix tariff besides regulating and giving recommendations on new services.

The Bill was adopted by a voice vote, amid a walk-out by Left parties and RJD after their plea for raising further objections was rejected by the Chair.

Paswan rejected an Opposition demand to send the Bill to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Telecommunications for a clause by clause review, saying the Government did not want to delay it.

Replying to the debate on the Bill in the House, he said the Government planned to have Sanchar Dhabas8217; in every panchayat and start a rural areas development fund to strengthen the communication network across the country.

The Minister said a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal would be created for adjudicating disputes between a licensor and a licensee, the service producers and consumers, thereby reducing the burden on TRAI.

A sitting judge would head the tribunal and be appointed in consultation with Chief Justice of India, Paswan said.

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He said the TRAI8217;s composition would be changed and it would now have a Chairperson, two whole-time members and two part-time members appointed by the Centre.

Paswan said the ordinance was brought forth in January in view of the urgency to remove the impediments in the growth of this infrastructure sector.

The House also rejected a statutory resolution moved by CPIM Member Basudeb Acharya.

Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer, while initiating the discussion, said quot;I have no trust in this government and my distrust of this Government8217;s intentions in the Telecom sector is the greatest.quot; He charged the Government for quot;bending its knees to bring foreign investors in the telecom sectorquot; and said this measure would only weaken TRAI.

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Before staging a walk-out CPIM leader Basudeb Acharya said the Government had not answered why the ordinance was promulgated as the TRAI had not started and the Tribunal not yet set up.

Raghuvansh Prasad Singh RJD demanded that it be referred to a standing committee for thorough scrutiny claiming that the Bill sought to serve the interests of multinationals.