Members of Parliament from BJP as well as Congress have expressed
concern over delays in mobile network rollout in uncovered villages of
the sensitive North East region. In a letter to telecom minister Manoj
Sinha, Congress MP from Arunachal Pradesh Ninong Ering said that despite
north eastern states signing memorandum of understanding in January
over installation of mobile towers in uncovered villages, nothing has
been implemented on ground.
He has called for immediate
installation of mobile towers in Bishing and Tuting area of Arunachal
Pradesh where China has reportedly attempted to build road on Indian
territory.
"It is my earnest request to you that the
connectivity on all Chinese border is very important. As you must have
witness during the last incursion of the Chinese in Bishing, in Tuting
area of Arunachal Pradesh. The information received by the army
personnel was very late. If the mobile tower had been installed, the
incursion could have been stopped," Ering said.
The Cabinet in
2014 had approved Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the
north-eastern region to provide 2G mobile coverage in 8,621 uncovered
villages and areas along with national highways in the North-East with
an outlay of Rs 5,336.18 crore. However, the project is yet to be rolled
out.
Bharti Airtel has also been entrusted to set up over 2004
mobile towers to connect about 2,128 villages in Manipur, Mizoram,
Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, parts of Assam and national highways in
north-eastern States. Besides, BSNL has been assigned to install 2,817
mobile towers to provide coverage in 4,119 uncovered villages in the
region.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had also approached the telecom
minister last December expressing concern over the 3-year delay in the
project. He alleged that senior officers in Universal Service Obligation
Fund (USOF) department are "deliberately delaying" the project.
"They are responsible for criminal delay of the project. Either they
are incompetent or they have some ulterior motives," Dubey alleged.
When contacted, a Department of Telecom (DoT) official said the Telecom
Commission has already approved the project and the rollout has been
delayed due to pending of network testing on ground.
He said:
"BSNL has been awarded project on the nomination basis. There have been
complaints against telecom network deployed by BSNL in naxal-affected
states. BSNL plans to deploy same technology in North East. The Telecom
Commission in September has desired to conduct test at the site to check
if BSNL network works without any glitch in North East states before
final approval is accorded."
A BSNL official has said network in area affected by left wing extremism (LWE) was based on specifications approved by DoT.
"The network came as relief for those areas which never had any
connectivity and was appreciated by all initially. Over the years
network carrying traffic capacity has reached its limit. Therefore, it
needs further upgrade for which DoT is considering various measures.
BSNL will upgrade as soon as approvals are received," the BSNL officer
said.
The DoT officer said that BSNL vendors agreed for network test in North East at the location in mid-February.
"We are just waiting for them to get the testing done, after which the
mobile tower roll out can be carried out as per BSNLs convenience," the
officer said.