RS MP urges EGoM on Telecom to accept TRAI recommendations

In a letter to Chidambaram, he made a strong pitch for transparency and consistency in government decision making and rebuilding the credibility of the regulatory players like Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

He listed out six issues in the letter to Chidambaram which included a word of caution on significantly altering the TRAI recommendations without detailed and proper justification.

"Any attempt to significantly alter the recommendations made by the TRAI without detailed and proper justification will certainly be open to litigation, especially since the reserve price is an integral part of the forthcoming 2G spectrum auctions which have been directed by the Supreme Court itself," he said in the letter.

Unless valid, detailed and transparent reasoning is provided for deviating from TRAI's recommendation, any decision of the government will find it difficult to dodge judicial scrutiny, Chandrasekhar argued.

He said ideally, the work of a specialist regulator like TRAI should have been evaluated by the Telecom Commission with specific recommendations.

"To leave these decisions to the EGoM without specific recommendations on file that convey at least the mind and decision of the Telecom Commission is deeply worrying," he said.

Chandrasekhar said the TRAI has received the reference twice over on the issue of reserve price.

"It has not only strengthened its reply during its response to the re-reference, but has, in fact, discarded all apprehensions by service providers relating to the hike in tariffs," he contended.

"Changing these would require the exact same rigour of approach. It is hoped that the EGoM will keep in mind the enormous and high quality work that has already gone into making such detailed recommendations," he said.

Chandrasekhar also expressed hope that the TRAI, under the Chairmanship of Rahul Khullar, will not make a U-turn or suggest any significant variance on the work done by his predecessor.

"If so, it will be questionable since, at the heart of the detailed analysis and economic projections is the work and dedication of the officers of TRAI. Overturning that or even changing it would be a mockery of the TRAI's credibility and a huge hit on its already depleted reputation of standing up to political pressure and industry lobbying," he said.