Telecom officials may be sent to surplus cell

In a major setback to over 2,200 Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officials, Union Minister for Communications and IT Dayanidhi Maran said the government would hold no discussions over their permanent absorption into BSNL and MTNL, as the deadline set by the Cabinet to settle the issue had expired.

Now, the government is left with no choice but to transfer the ITS officers to a surplus cell after October 15. The move will affect telecom services as the the Indian Telecom Service Association has already obtained an order to stop the government from appointing retired telecom officers in their place as part of a contingency plan.

"The fact that only 16 out of 2,200 serving ITS officers have opted for BSNL/MTNL, vindicates our stand that terms and conditions offered by the DoT are degrading," SS Sirohi, president of ITSA, said.

He said a section of the bureaucracy in the DoT was responsible for mishandling the absorption process, which had created an impasse.

"We (ITSA) asked Maran to set up a high-level committee comprising independent members and ITSA nominees to address the issue and work out a win-win solution for all the stake holders officials, DoT, BSNL and MTNL. The minister, however, expressed his inability to revisit ITSA's demands as the deadline set by the Cabinet had expired on October 10, thereby closing the absorption process," Sirohi's statement added.