Distress Call

State-run BSNL and MTNL, credited with laying the country’s telecommunication infrastructure, are battling for survival, owing to mismanagement and mounting losses. Can the government rescue them?

- Shwweta Punj

Close to Connaught Place, in the heart of New Delhi’s business district, stands Eastern Court, the colonial building designed by Robert Tor Russell. Once a picture of elegance – a creamy white facade, arcades, huge verandahs and a massive lawn – the sprawling complex is today crumbling with decay and neglect. Much like the state-run telecom company it houses: Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) office, a stone’s throw away, appears swankier, but walk into either of the offices and you find files piled up on desks, the backrest of chairs lined with towels, broken hot cases and too many hands to do each task. A notice at the MTNL reception instructs visitors not to pay bribes and to lodge a complaint if an official asks for one. It’s a vintage sarkari set piece, reflecting the archaic ways in which the telecom behemoths carry out their business.

Scores of state-run enterprises in India continue to retain their image as havens of ‘safe employment’, what if that comes at the cost of professionalism and performance. At BSNL and MTNL, for instance, a driver to a joint secretary-level officer with about two decades of experience earns around 70,000 a month, excluding perks. Until recently, it came with a priceless tag called job guarantee. Not anymore.

MTNL, saddled with a debt of about 20,000 crore, has been delaying salaries since October 2018. January salaries were credited on February 21 while the February salary was paid on March 14. The company is paying 150 crore as monthly interest on its loans while revenue from the lucrative Delhi and Mumbai circles – where it C operates – is about 100 crore.