Mumbai: The Planning Commission has suggested the setting up of three regulators for the energy, communications and transport sectors, to prevent proliferation of regulatory commissions.

While the energy sector regulator would deal with issues in electricity, oil, gas and coal, the transport sector regulator could look into rail, roads, airports and ports while the communications sector regulator should be empowered to deal with issues concerning telecom, internet, broadcasting, cable TV and posts, the commission said.

The commission made these suggestions in a draft document for the eleventh plan, which will be placed before the National Development Council (NDC) for final approval on December 19.

While making a case for common sectoral regulators, the document said the new structure "would eliminate proliferation of regulatory commissions, help build capacity and expertise, promote consistency of approach and save on costs."

The Planning Commission also suggested an overhaul of the regulatory regime for the newly opened infrastructure sectors,  "to ensure that the interests of consumers are adequately protected and also that producers are fairly treated."

The commission also pointed to the uneven regulatory environment in the country, saying that at present there are no regulators in some sectors such as roads and railways and only partial regulators in others like ports and airports.