The wireless department of the Mumbai fire brigade has failed to clear the licence fees for its wireless communication system for the last four years. The delay has cost them Rs33 lakh in fine, reliable sources from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have informed.
The wireless department of the Mumbai fire brigade has failed to clear the licence fees for its wireless communication system for the last four years. The delay has cost them Rs33 lakh in fine, reliable sources from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have informed.
The fire brigade will now have to pay an outstanding amount of Rs2.53 crore to the union ministry of communications and information technology.
The fire brigade is supposed to pay Rs55 lakh at the start of every year to the department of telecommunications (DoT) as licence fee for the walkie talkies its personnel use.
While fire department officials failed to provide a concrete reason for the delay, there were reports that the union ministry might cancel their wireless section's licence if they do not clear the dues soon.
Chief fire officer Sunil Nesarikar denied allegations of a delay and said officials are in talks with the DoT on the fine amount. "The cheques were released from our end but they could not encash them, hence the fine. We are in talks with the DoT and hope to sort out the matter soon," he said.
Sources also said electricity bills for the tower installed at Aarey colony, because of which the walkie-talkies do not always receive a proper signal, too are yet to be paid. The outstanding electricity bill dues run up to Rs4.5 lakh.
Nesarikar denied any signal issues with the walkie-talkies. "We thought the bill amount was way too high, but we do not have the liberty to choose the service provider as Aarey is government land. In any case, if they disconnect electricity supply, we have back-up options in place," he said.
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