THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) to (c) Status of BharatNet project in Phase-I (as on 06.11.2016):
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Items Achieved
Connectivity (GPs) 12,597
OFC laid (Km) 1,43,445
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The State-wise status of BharatNet is enclosed at Annexure.
On 30.04.2016, Telecom Commission accorded approval to implement the project in three phases:
Phase-I – 1,00,000 Gram Panchayats (GPs ) under implementation. Being executed by 3 Central Public Sector Under takings (CPSUs) viz. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), RailTel and Power Gird Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) targeted to be completed by March 2017.
Phase-II – Balance GPs using an optimal mix of underground/aerial OFC, radio and satellite media. To be implemented by involving CPSEs, State Governments, state PSUs and Private Sector targeted to be completed by September 2018.
Phase-III – Future proofing of the network with ring topology to be used between districts and blocks; and blocks and Gram Panchyats (GPs).
BharatNet project is a unique project unprecedented in scope, scale and range, to connect all the Gram Panchayats (approx. 2,50,000) widely dispersed across the country. In the first phase, around 2.2 Lakh km of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) is to be laid to connect 1,00,000 GPs by March, 2017.
The implementation required survey of terrain and the proposed OFC path to connect Gram Panchayats. The incremental fibre laid on the basis of the survey is to be connected to existing fibre.
Field survey of massive nature across rural areas was required. Location of existing fibre is also a challenge. Other difficulties faced in the implementation of the project are as follows:
(i) Involvement of multiple agencies, Department of Telecommunications, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), (CPSUs)/ Central / State Agencies / contractors etc. and hence requires inter-agency co-ordination for resolution of implementation issues.
(ii) Procurement and supply related issues.
(iii) Challenges faced in awarding contracts because of various reasons viz. difficult areas Hilly, Rocky, Left Wing Extremist (LWE), limited number of Trenching & laying contractors, Schedule of Rates (SoR) of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), High rates quoted by contractors.
(iv) Lengthy procedures for Right of Way (ROW) permission from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Forest, Oil & Gas companies etc.
(v) Unavailability of Gram Panchayat/Government building in some states.
In spite of above constraints, a total of 1,43,445 km of optical fibre cable has been laid till 06.11.2016.
(d) 1,00,000 Gram Panchayats in the country are targeted to be connected in phase-I by March 2017. Remaining GPs are targeted to be connected by September 2018 under phase-II. Phase-II will be implemented by involving CPSUs, State Government, State PSUs and Private Sector. An optimal mix of underground, aerial OFC, radio and satellite media will be used. In Phase-II of the project it is envisaged to lay aerial OFC on electricity lines also. For laying of aerial OFC cable, States have to do the survey and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping of their electricity lines, with funding from USOF. 13 States have so far submitted their plan for survey/GIS mapping of their power lines.
(e) Presently, the project is being implemented through three CPSUs viz. BSNL, RailTel and Powergrid which already have sufficient skilled manpower for this work.
Annexure
Statewise status of NOFN (BharatNet) as on 06.11.2016
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S.No. States/ UTs No. of Gram Panchayats (GPs)- Phase I Pipe laid (kms.) Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) laid (in kms) No. of GPs where OFC laid Connectivity provided (GPs )
1 Assam 1013 2252 2088 770 243
2 Bihar 5202 8786 7615 2891 333
3 Chhattisgarh 2110 5392 5147 1724 943
4. Haryana 6090 6257 6244 3871 296
5. Jammu & Kashmir 624 253 240 118 0
6. Karnataka 5599 10383 10764 5256 4826
7. Kerala 977 720 826 1129 1129
8. Madhya Pradesh 10516 23760 21458 7141 629
9. Maharashtra 12055 17623 15471 6999 842
10. Punjab 6128 6471 6213 4290 70
11. Rajasthan 6967 15980 15005 4834 810
12. Uttar Pradesh 22514 35083 26645 12406 920
13. Uttarakhand 1767 2141 1857 1006 216
14. West Bengal 2713 2641 2534 920 107
15. Andaman & Nicobar 69 0 0 0 0
16. Chandigarh 12 18 19 12 12
17. Arunachal Pradesh 256 693 117 22 0
18. Nagaland 743 2171 818 194 0
19. Manipur 24 71 73 24 26
20. Mizoram 163 448 123 5 0
21. Tripura 1021 1560 1368 641 79
22. Meghalaya 651 1133 277 80 0
23. Gujarat 5771 7969 6308 2859 320
24. Puducherry 98 82 92 98 101
25. Andhra Pradesh 0 1913 21 0 0
26. Telangana 2097 4266 4043 1818 127
27. Odisha 3388 5801 4962 2091 335
28. Jharkhand 1428 3046 2920 1202 233
29. Himachal Pradesh 283 288 196 62 0
30. Daman & Diu 0 0 0 0 0
31. Dadra & Nagar Haveli 0 0 0 0 0
32. Sikkim 0 0 0 0 0
33. Lakshadweep 10 0 0 0 0
34. Tamil Nadu 0 0 0 0 0
35. Goa* - - - - -
Grand Total 1,00,289 1,67,202 1,43,445 62,463 12,597
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*All the GPs of Goa are already connected with Optical Fibre.
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