The Hindu        21.03.2013 

BBMP to hike fee for laying cables

The State government has decided to issue an ordinance to increase the fee for laying optical fibre cables (OFC) by various agencies in the BBMP limits from Rs. 300 to Rs. 600 a metre. A decision regarding this was taken at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The government has decided to issue an ordinance through the Governor.

The Cabinet has decided to amend the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 to increase the fee, sources in the State Secretariat told The Hindu . The BBMP has been attempting to extract revenue from telecom companies that have been laying OFCs in the city.

However, the companies have insisted that the BBMP had no authority to levy fee as they were permitted to operate under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. They said the fee was exorbitant when compared to other cities.