The Technocrats Welfare Society of India (TWSI) has moved Mumbai high court for a stay on the functioning of the newly-formed Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and restraining the authorities from releasing additional salaries to its staff. TWSI filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) through advocate Usuf Mulani challenging the decision to give the department of telecom services a corporate shape, from October one by forming BSNL. The PIL will come up for hearing in due course before the bench headed by Chief Justice B P Singh. The PIL argued that the new corporation will have to bear heavy losses on account of the additional burden of salaries to the department of telecom staff to the tune of Rs 1440 crore per annum. Besides, the PIL claimed that the BSNL staff was also entitled to perks of Rs 1000 crore per annum and free telephone facility worth Rs 300 crore per anum. BSNL will have to pay annually Rs 840 crore by way of sales tax only in addition to stamp duty on assets worth Rs 500 crore, insurance premium of Rs 100 crore, corporate tax of Rs 1470 crore, licence fee of Rs 2700 crore and dividend of Rs 400 crore. The aggregate total works out to Rs 8750 crores. The PIL argued that last year the net profit of telecom department was Rs 8000 crore. The BSNL, since inception, will have to bear a burden of Rs 8250 crore. The growth rate of 20 percent will therefore come down to zero per cent, the PIL claimed. Bureau Report