In barring the entry of the state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) into the cellular phone business, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has yet again demonstrated the Janus-faced nature of this country's liberalisation process.The immediate impact of TRAI's decision has been a bear run on its scrip and the disappointment of consumers who were promised a mobile phone connection at bargain prices. Even so it would be futile to project TRAI as the big bad wolf in what is otherwise a fairy tale. In reality, MTNL has fallen victim to a turf war between its parent, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), and TRAI.At the root of the problem is the fact that the Government, as represented by DoT, is cast in the dual role of policy-maker and service provider. DoT sees TRAI as the effective watchdog for private telecom companies but refuses to recognise that its writ must run over MTNL as well. DoT is controlled by a mind-set which is used to treating public money as private largesse and viewing a state-owned enterprise as a favourdispensing facility. No wonder it is loath to let go of MTNL and limit its role to merely making broad policy. On its part, TRAI has indicated it may reconsider its ban on MTNL's expansion plans if it is "consulted" by DoT. The underlying message seems to be that the regulatory authority seeks to have a say in the framing of policy. This is analogous to the judiciary telling Parliament it wants to have a role in lawmaking. Unfortunately, while DoT and TRAI seek to carve out territories, it is the hapless MTNL which suffers.Public-sector units (PSUs) in this country seem twice cursed. For five decades, the government has treated them like milch cows. Now, the birth pangs of a new economic paradigm are being transferred to them. If only PSUs like MTNL were allowed the freedom to function as what they are: business corporations.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Mar 2, 1998--- ENDS ---
