Outgoing civic chief seeks to head telecom authority

After raising the hackles of the city’s builders by introducing stricter norms, the outgoing civic chief, Subodh Kumar, might now train his guns on errant telecom companies.

After raising the hackles of the city’s builders by introducing stricter norms, the outgoing civic chief, Subodh Kumar, might now train his guns on errant telecom companies. While there is still speculation over whether the state government will rehabilitate him, Kumar has set his sights on the chairmanship of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

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Kumar confirmed to Hindustan Times that he has applied for the post. The authority regulates, among other things, the telecom as well as the broadcasting industry, which includes DTH (direct-to-home), cable TV and radio.

The incumbent chairman, Dr JS Sarma, will retire by May 14 and the Centre has set up a committee comprising senior bureaucrats to select his successor.

Kumar said: “I have applied for the post as I have worked in the telecom sector earlier, and hence have the experience.” Before being posted as the civic chief, Kumar was working on deputation with the Centre as the additional secretary in the department of telecom, where he had authored a report on allocation of spectrum which recommended its auction, after the now-infamous method of first-come-first-serve basis.

Kumar, meanwhile, has dismissed the speculation of being offered a post by the state government.