New Delhi: Nearly two and a half months after
imposing a ban on pre-paid mobile phones in Jammu and Kashmir,
the Centre on Thursday lifted its order with immediate effect but
put stringent conditions on operators for verification of
customers.
The decision to lift the ban was taken after the Centre
finalised a "foolproof" plan to ensure proper verification of
nearly 38 lakh cell phone subscribers in the state, official
sources said today.
The Union Home Ministry had imposed the ban on pre-paid
mobile phone services on November one last year and Home
Minister P Chidambaram had recently said that if the service
providers come up with a foolproof plan of 100 percent
verification and the ministry was satisfied with it, then the
issue may be revisited.
Jammu and Kashmir government as well as Chief Minister
Omar Abdullah had been pursuing with the Centre on the issue
asking it to work out a solution at the earliest.
The state government had favoured a policy for the telecom
operators for resuming pre-paid mobile services in the state
which should include stringent action besides financial
penalties for firms not complying with verification process.
The state had maintained that it did not have any issue
over the pre-paid ban and wanted the telecom operators to
behave in a disciplined manner.
The state government felt mere imposition of financial
penalty was not helping security agencies and a law needed to
be formulated under which stringent action could be taken
against erring officials, besides imposing a financial burden
on the telecom operators, the sources said.
The Department of Telecom had imposed a penalty of Rs 7.38
crore on the six service providers operating in the state from
2008 to November 2009.
Abdullah had asked the Centre to work out a plan as
quickly as possible as ban on pre-paid mobile has affected 38
lakh customers, who comprise 60 percent of total clientele in
the state.
Telecom operators have been suggested not to issue
pre-paid connection to any customer until the applicant
provided reference of a post-paid number or BSNL landline.
PTI
