The BSNL employees’ union has urged the newly-appointed Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to ensure that the Department of Telecom clears its due of ₹30,000 crore to the telco in order to provide some aid to the stressed public sector unit (PSU).
The Bharatiya Telecom Employees Union (BSNL), an affiliate of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, said in a letter, “The DoT on its part has been casting a Nelson’s eye towards BSNL. The DoT owes the BSNL around ₹30,000 crore...we shall be highly obliged... if you could see that this amount is refunded to the BSNL at the earliest to enable the company to perform with more vigour and also take care of its employees’ needs.”
The dues include about ₹13,789 crore in viability gap funding for rural telephony, a total of about ₹8,300 for surrendered Wimax and CDMA spectrum, and ₹1,051 crore for the government’s BharatNet project. The union also said that poor marketing methods not in line with contemporary techniques plague BSNL, resulting in loss of revenue and market share.
