Inter-ministerial panel, the Telecom Commission (TC) is expected to meet on March 27 to discuss issues such as installation of mobile towers in Naxal areas, full mobile number portability and a new penalty scheme.
According to official sources, installation of mobile towers in Naxal areas is going to be of top priority of the commission. The panel is expected to take a decision on this as it would help security forces in strengthening their operations against left-wing extremists, sources added.
The Cabinet had earlier approved the proposal at a cost of about Rs3,046 crore in nine states affected by Naxal violence. The affected areas are spread across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.
The project was to have been completed by June but has been stuck due to differing cost estimates. The requirement submitted by Bharat Sanchar Nigam limited exceeds the project budget approved by the Cabinet by about Rs 789 crore, according to sources.
The panel may also discuss full mobile number portability, which will allow users relocating to any part of the country to retain their numbers. Jammu & Kashmir may be excluded from this facility following security concerns raised by the Defence Ministry.
“The issue of full mobile number portability may be required to be sent back to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for additional information and some clarifications,” a senior Department of Telecom official said. Guidelines for full mobile number portability recommended by Trai in September 2013 have to be finalised by the Department of Telecom (DoT) after approval by the Commission.
Along with these, TC may also take up a revised penalty scheme, which will save operators from being fined a maximum of Rs50 crore by the DoT for even minor violations.
The proposal classifies penalties at various levels, starting with warnings that can lead to a penalty of Rs1 lakh, minor violations with a Rs1 crore penalty. If the violations are moderate in nature, it would attract Rs5 crore penalty and major violations would get a Rs20 crore. In cases where the violations are severe, DoT can slap a penalty of Rs50 crore.