Ministerial hurdle trips constitution of Trai top brass

KOLKATA: The constitution of the three-member Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) high-command appears to have hit a ministerial roadblock.

While DoT circles are hush-hush on the issue, it’s learnt that Union communications minister Dayanidhi Maran has voiced reservations about the final list of shortlisted candidates for the posts of senior Trai members who will directly report to Trai chairperson Nripendra Misra.

The three-member Trai helm comprises the chairperson and two members — member (technical) and member (non-technical). The final list of shortlisted candidates for the two Trai member posts include Telecom Consultants of India chairman GD Gaiha, BSNL director (development) RL Dubey and Telecom Commission member (finance) AK Sawhney.

The final list of shortlisted candidates was submitted last month to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC). But there has been no decision so far, since the Union communications minister has sought a review of the entire selection exercise.

Sources close to the minister told ET that the new front-runner for the post of Trai member (technical) was likely to be former DoT advisor RN Prabhakar, while the top contender for the post of Trai member (non-technical) would be N Parthasarthy, who is now a member of BSNL’s $5-bn GSM tender evaluation committee.

However, indications are that the Prime Minister’s Office has taken exception to the massive delay in constitution of the Trai helm. Government circles hinted that Mr Maran’s decision to seek a review hasn’t gone down too well with the PMO.

While Mr Misra replaced Pradip Baijal as the new Trai chief a few months ago, the crucial appointment of both Trai members have been hanging fire for months. It’s well known that the previous two Trai members DPS Seth and PK Sarma retired on March 9 and April 10, respectively.