LS passes TRAI Amendment Bill

BANGALORE: The Lok Sabha has passed by voice-vote a Bill which seeks to

strengthen the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and set up a Telecom

Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, with the communications minister Ram

Vilas Paswan, announcing that Internet connectivity would be provided to all

district headquarters by June 2002.

Opposition parties charged the government of rushing with the TRAI

(Amendment) Bill 2000 and earlier promulgating the ordinance "bypassing''

Parliament. Their demand that the Bill be referred to the Parliamentary Standing

Committee on Telecommunications for a clause by clause review was rejected by Mr

Paswan. Replying to the debate on the Bill, Mr Paswan defended the decision to

exclude the TRAI from the purview of CAG audit on the grounds that it would

impede its functioning. Moving the bill for consideration, Mr Paswan said the

regulatory body will have the powers to fix tariff besides regulating and giving

recommendations on new services.

The ordinance, which was promulgated on January 24, makes a clear distinction

between the recommendatory, advisory and regulatory functions of the TRAI under

sub-section (1) of section 11 of the act. The functions of the Authority

include, among other things, to fix the terms and conditions of

interconnectivity between service providers, laying down the standards of

quality of service and making recommendations on efficient management of the

available spectrum. The tariff setting functions of the Authority have also been

brought under the purview of sub-section (3) of section 11. Mr Paswan also

dismissed the charge that the powers of the TRAI had been curtailed. He pointed

out that the government had hived off the function of dispute resolution to the

Appellate Tribunal.