Mumbai. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant claimed that the central government did not allow MTNL and BSNL to launch 4G/5G services, causing huge loss to customers. In a post on ‘X’, he shared a letter dated May 21, 2024 from Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, written to the secretaries of all departments of the Central Government and Chief Secretaries of all states and union territories regarding the monetization of surplus land and building assets of both the public sector undertakings.
The letter said, “The Union Cabinet approved the revival plan of BSNL/MTNL in 2019 which also includes monetization of its surplus land/building assets. BSNL’s assets are present all over the country and MTNL’s assets are located in Mumbai and Delhi. Most of the properties are in prime locations. The properties are offered through direct sale to government departments, PSUs and government organizations.” Sawant, MP from Mumbai South, questioned the writing of this letter at a time when the Model Code of Conduct is in force in view of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the country.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader claimed, “Why should he (secretary) not be questioned as to what he was doing since 2019. This is nothing but strangling and creating chaos in BSNL and MTNL.” He said, “In the name of self-reliance, they did not allow BSNL/MTNL to launch 4G/5G services, leading to loss of customers and huge losses.”