(a) whether the Government has introduced any Dispute Resolution Mechanism to address complaints/grievances from consumers of telecom services;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Department of Telecom proposes to introduce and enforce a uniform billing format devoid of technical jargon applicable to State owned and private telecom service providers; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI DAYANIDHI MARAN)
(a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 15 FOR 1ST DECEMBER, 2004 REGARDING INTRODUCTION OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISM.
(a) to (b) Yes, Sir. A well defined structured dispute resolution mechanism to address complaints/grievances from consumers of Telecom services exist in Department of Telecom and state owned PSUs i.e. BSNL, MTNL.
(i) Apart from complaint booking on prescribed toll-free numbers the Public Grievance Cell headed by Joint Secretary level officer is functional in DOT, BSNL and MTNL. The PG Cell in Telecom circles is operational right from the Corporate Office to SSA level.
(ii) The telephone adalats, open house sessions are being held periodically at SSA level and circle level to redress the grievances and petitions.
(iii) Apart from above, a consumer can approach Consumer Forum for settlement of a dispute.
(iv) A group of consumers can also approach TDSAT (Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal) for a dispute resolution against the service provider.