‘CAG’s BSNL loss estimate from RJIL deal misinterpreted, rectified now’

New Delhi: The CAG’s estimate that the government has suffered revenue loss due to non-implementation of an agreement with Reliance Jio was based on a misinterpretation of a clause, and the error has been rectified now, Minister of State for Telecom Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said on Thursday.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), in a report last year, had said that the state-run firm BSNL failed to enforce the master service agreement (MSA) with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) and did not bill for the additional technology used on BSNL’s shared passive infrastructure, resulting in loss of Rs 1,757.76 crore and penal interest thereon, between May 2014 to March 2024 to the government exchequer.

The minister, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, said BSNL has an MSA with RJIL for leasing of BSNL’s tower infrastructure to install their equipment.

“There is no revenue loss to BSNL and the government. The estimate of CAG was based on the misinterpretation of the clause of add-on technology, which has now been rectified in a transparent and equitable manner. BSNL has since raised the revised invoices from RJIL, Pemmasani said.

The minister’s actions have been taken to recover losses, resolving the ambiguity in agreement clauses, monetisation of surplus inventory, issuance of revised demands, and preventing the recurrence of lapses in the functioning of BSNL. “Further, PSUs have been advised to timely process bills and be extra cautious while taking policy/business decisions,” he said.