Centre lags behind in rural internet connectivity targets

With almost three years gone – the project was started in 2012 during the UPA regime – the agencies have been able to lay broadband cables in just 36,738 gram panchayats out of a total of 2,50,000 so far. 

Among the three agencies roped in for the ambitious project, the best result has been shown by the state-owned telecom service provider BSNL, which has completed cable laying work in 31,128 panchayats till January 17 this year. The other two PSUs, RailTel Corporation of India and Power Grid Corporation of India, have laid cables in just 2,289 and 3,321 gram panchayats respectively. This figure was only achieved as broadband cables were laid in 2,000 villages in the last 

15 days.

All three PSUs are part of ministries headed by key ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet. BSNL comes under Telecom Ministry which is headed by Ravi Shankar Prasad, RailTel is under Railways Ministry headed by Suresh Prabhu, while Power Grid, which is under Power Ministry, is headed by Piyush Goyal. 

With the Centre hoping to connect about 2.50 lakh gram panchayats by 2017, the pace of work suggests that the target would not be met by the agencies. Connecting every village through internet is the base of the Prime Minister’s ambitious Digital India project. With just two years in hand to complete the cable laying work in 2,13,000 gram panchayats, the government’s multiple schemes, which are dependent on internet, will be severely hit.

According to the latest data of the Ministry of Communication, the pipes for laying cables have been installed in 47,467 villages, with the BSNL at the top completing pipe-laying in 38,950 gram panchayats, while RailTel covered only 3,658 gram panchayats and Power Grid completed pipe laying work in 4,859 gram panchayats. 

The commitment of BSNL is to complete cable laying work in 84,366 gram panchayats by December 2016, while RailTel has set the target of completing cable laying work in 8,678 villages and Power Grid would be completing the process in 7,156 villages.

Commenting on the slow pace, a senior official in Telecom Ministry said, “There are several obstacles which need to be addressed at the earliest to streamline the process. In several cases, it has come to the fore that panchayats don’t give permission for cable laying work. Most of the time got wasted in negotiating with the village headmen.”