BSNL's failure to bill Jio for a decade cost govt Rs 1,757 crore: CAG

CAG report reveals BSNL's decade-long lapse in enforcing billing terms with Jio, leading to massive revenue loss and financial discrepancies in infrastructure sharing

The government incurred a loss of ₹1,757.56 crore due to state-owned telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) failing to bill Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) for a decade, despite their agreement on passive infrastructure sharing, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said on Tuesday.   

According to CAG, BSNL did not enforce the terms of the master service agreement (MSA) with Reliance Jio and failed to charge for additional technology deployed on its shared passive infrastructure. This lapse, spanning from May 2014 to March 2024, led to significant financial losses, including penal interest, for the government exchequer.   

Additionally, the auditor highlighted that BSNL suffered a loss of ₹38.36 crore by not deducting the licence fee share from payments made to Telecom Infrastructure Providers (TIPs). The report further pointed out discrepancies in billing for infrastructure sharing.   

“Non-adherence to the terms and conditions laid down in the MSA with RJIL by BSNL and non-application of the escalation clause resulted in a loss of revenue of ₹29 crore (including GST) towards infrastructure sharing charges,” the CAG statement said.  

 

Dilip Buildcon JV secures ₹2,631 cr work order from BSNL

Last month, Dilip Buildcon’s joint venture, DBL–STL, received an advanced work order worth ₹2,631.14 crore from BSNL. Under this contract, the company will be responsible for designing, supplying, constructing, installing, upgrading, operating, and maintaining the middle-mile network as part of BSNL’s BharatNet Phase-III broadband project.   

The initiative, funded by the Digital Bharat Nidhi (formerly the Universal Service Obligation Fund), aims to enhance middle-mile and last-mile connectivity in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Dilip Buildcon will execute 70.23 per cent of the project scope.  

The Bhopal-based construction firm is expected to complete the construction phase within three years, with a maintenance contract extending for 10 years.

 

[With PTI inputs]