Question : WAITING LIST FOR LANDLINE CONNECTIONS

(a) the number of persons awaiting landline connections, State-wise;

(b) the reasons for delay in providing the landline connections; and

(c) the steps being taken to provide the same expeditiously?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)

(a) The state-wise waiting list for landline connections as on 30-06-2005 is given in the Annexure.

(b) & (c): Most of the waiting list is in the rural areas, which are generally far flung. In such area, laying of cable and installation of line materials takes lot of time. Sometimes, denial of permission for digging by local authorities also causes delay in installation of telephones.

The following steps are taken to clear the waiting list:


(i) Relaxation by BSNL for laying outdoor cable from 2.5 Kms to 5.0 Kms for landline Exchanges.

(ii) Efforts are made to lay cables and install line materials at a faster pace.

(iii) A non-lapsable Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) has been set up to give financial support to the telecom operators (both public and private) to encourage them, inter-alia, to provide phones in rural areas.

(iv) Increased provision of WLL and mobile phones.


Annexure

State-wise waiting list of landline connections as on 30-06- 2005

 Sr.N Name of State/Circle Waiting o. list(Fixed) as on 30-06-2005 1. Andaman & Nicobar 248 2. Andhra Pradesh 34484 3. Assam 24056 4. Bihar 103059 5. Chhattisgarh 2512 6. Gujarat 63324 7. Haryana 75818 8. Himachal Pradesh 46358 9. Jammu & Kashmir 74251 10. Jharkhand 16781 11. Karnataka 85270 12. Kerala 376228 13. Madhya Pradesh 9262 14. Maharashtra (-) 156153 Mumbai 15. North East 9603 16. Orissa 27589 17. Punjab 44724 18. Rajasthan 144925 19. Tamil Nadu (-) 108234 Chennai 20. Uttaranchal 4974 21. Uttar Pradesh 150375 22. West Bengal (-) 135531 Kolkata 23. Kolkata 3117 24. Chennai 1122 25. Delhi 0 26. Mumbai 0 Total: 1697998