Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has decided not to hike its basic telephony rentals from April 1, and is planning to further rationalise its tariff plans.

"Considering the large-scale migration to cellular phones, we have decided not to hike rentals," Roop Narayan Bharadwaj, chief general manager of the Maharashtra circle of BSNL, said.

BSNL is also working on increasing the pulse rate or extending distance slabs.

"With the tariff revisions, we will be in a position to offer a flat rate to our subscribers, particularly in the Maharashtra & Goa circle, if the distance slabs are changed," Bharadwaj added.

Bharadwaj claimed that in Maharashtra alone there had been 40,000 instances of surrendered basic telephone lines, with "a large number of people opting for mobile phones and also because of the industrial recession".

In Maharashtra, BSNL has over 3.9 million basic telephones and is expected to add 260,000 lines by the end of March 2003. It is also working towards increasing its cellular subscriber base to 620,000 connections from 200,000 in the circle in the next four months.

Bharadwaj pointed out that the corporation was targeting highways, the Railways, religious sites and tourist places in Maharashtra to expand its subscriber base. The state contributes 10 per cent to BSNL's overall turnover.

The circle, till date, has revenue bills of up to Rs 2,300 crore (Rs 23 billion), which are expected to touch Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion) by March 31, 2003.