BSNL and MTNL, two state-run telecom operators in India, did not clear salary to their 1.98 lakh employees for the month of July, PTI reported.

The senior management of BSNL and MTNL is yet to offer any assurance to their employees on the timing of the release of salary for July. BSNL and MTNL usually credit salary to their employees on the last day of every month.

“Salary for the month of July has not come. There is also no information when the salary will be credited,” said All India Unions and Associations of Bharat Sanchar Nigam (AUAB) Convenor P Abhimanyu.

BSNL has 1.76 lakh employees across India while MTNL has around 22,000 employees in Mumbai and Delhi.

This is the second time the two companies have defaulted on payment of salary this year and for the first time after the new government took charge.

The two PSUs had delayed payment of salary for February until mid-March due to a financial crisis.

Total monthly salary expenses of BSNL are in the range of Rs 750-850 crore. MTNL spent around Rs 160 crore towards salary.

BSNL chairman and managing director P K Purwar did not make any comment on the delay of salary to the company employees.

MTNL Human Resource and Enterprise Business Director Sunil Kumar, who is also holding the additional charges of chairman and managing director, said the company is in the process collecting some dues after which the salary will be paid on a priority basis.

BSNL employs about 1.63 lakh personnel as on March 31, 2019, including 46,597 executives and 1.17 lakh non-executives.

BSNL is trying to monetise its land assets at prime locations with a market value of more than Rs 3-lakh crore, optical fibre network of more than 7.5-lakh route km and more than 66,000 towers.

BSNL has liability or loans of less than Rs 20,000 crore. For comparison, Vodafone Idea’s liabilities stand at Rs 1.18-lakh crore, Bharti Airtel’s Rs 1.08-lakh crore and Reliance Jio Infocomm’s Rs 1.12-lakh crore.