Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan on Wednesday pulled up state-owned telecommunication companies Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd for not being able to take on the challenge posed by private sector operators.

In a review meeting held with the two public sector units, Mahajan said BSNL and MTNL had not done much to build their brands and increase market acceptability.

According to top government sources, Mahajan said while BSNL and MTNL were creating the infrastructure, they were not doing enough to reach out to the masses.

Top officials from the two telecommunication majors present at the meeting said there was considerable delay in implementing their projects because of the faulty procurement policy.

The officials said since they had to procure every equipment through a public tender, they could not get the best price, and a lot of time was wasted in negotiating the terms and conditions with vendors.

The sources said Mahajan had asked both BSNL and MTNL to device a mechanism for better procurement of equipment, and the ministry would get it approved by the government.

During the meeting, the minister also stressed improving the quality of services and setting up sales teams to explore the market and woo customers.

Officials said Mahajan pulled up MTNL for not expanding its wireless in local loop limited mobility services in Delhi and Mumbai.

MTNL has frozen the Garuda connection for the time being due to uncertainty in regulations governing limited mobility.

The minister, however, said MTNL could not afford to keep a cap on its services when competing company's like Tata and Reliance had launched their services.