The reported fact that more than 5.8 crore ITRs were filed till July 31 for FY 2021-22 (AY-2022-23) made some interesting reading.

Notably, this follows the government’s refusal to extend the July 31 due date. But those tax payers (salaried employees and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) whose accounts need not be audited, somehow missed the bus, would have to pay a penalty of up to ₹5,000 on belated ITR filing, which can be done till December 31, 2022.

However, there were expectations of the government extending the deadline, for the benefit of those taxpayers facing various technical glitches while filing their returns.

Sadly, the government thought it wise to stick to its guns. One really wonders whether the heavens would have fallen had the government taken a pragmatic approach given the ground realities?

SK Gupta

New Delhi

Reviving BSNL

Apropos ‘BSNL deep rooted problems and its revival’ (August 1). A mere funding of₹1.64 lakh crore into BSNL for its survival and revival will definitely not serve any purpose unless the management aims at ‘high 6 G creation’ in a short span of time.

The public sector company cannot be an “umbrella for no work but regular pay” anymore. Every customer service centre with fewer employees should be converted into “marketing centres”.

The BSNL management and its employees should change their “age old mind set” of sitting in offices and should focus on “reaching area wise business targets” set every month with “service centres” attending to “customer complaints immediately”.

Accountability from lowest level to highest level should be now at least ensured and fixed so that employees justify the salary they earn every month.

Katuru Durga Prasad Rao

Hyderabad

Where is the notional loss? 

It is interesting to note that the bids for 5G spectrum after several rounds of auction have been a little less than ₹1.50 lakh crore. It also seems highly unlikely that the figure will cross the ₹1.86 lakh crore notional loss theory as propounded by the then CAG Vinod Rai.

Even after factoring all the variables, it is impossible to understand how a 5G auction could get bids less than the notional loss of a 2G auction. Perhaps some expert can explain.

It seems more like a hatchet job on the UPA government as session after session was disrupted in Parliament which ultimately led to the defeat of the government. No court has convicted the accused in the so called scam. A serious relook at the notional loss theory would be in order.

Anthony Henriques

Mumbai

Discom dues: States have a role

Apropos ‘Clear ₹2.5 lakh cr power sector dues: PM to States” (July 31) although is a pragmatic suggestion by the PM, its efficacy lies in its willing implementation by States.

One of the causes for this imbroglio is free power given as freebies by States to appease voters apart from accumulated dues by certain major industries and not the ordinary consumers, who are compelled to be prompt with the threat of disconnection.

With each election, the dues from Escoms to Discoms shoots up and it the debt becomes unserviceable since such huge budgetary provision to clear arrears is never made in any of the State budgets, who are confident that Discoms would never cut their power lines and plunge States in to darkness.

Rajiv Magal

Halekere Village (Karnataka)

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