(a) whether it is proposed to provide fully equipped communication centers to all panchayats;
(b) if so, the details thereof ;
(c) the extent to which this objective has already been attained, State-wise; and
(d) the time by which the said centers are likely to be provided in all the panchayats of the country?
THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI RAM VILAS PASWAN)
(a)&(b): There is no proposal, at present, to provide fully equipped communication centres to all panchayats. However, Telecommunication facilities are being provided to all the villages including the panchayat villages. Among various Telecommunication facilities, village public telephones(VPTs) have been provided to 3,76,068 villages out of total 6,07,491 villages in India. This includes the 1,96,883 panchayat villages out of 2,39,811 panchayat villages which have been provided with VPTs. Status of VPTs installed in Panchayat village, Circle wise, is given in the annexure.
(c)&(d): The remaining 2,31,923 villages including 42,928 panchayat villages have been planned to be provided with VPTs progressively by March, 2002.
Annexure
Circlewise Status of Panchayat Villages with VPTs as on 1-6-2000.
S.No. Name of the Circle Number of Panchayat Villages Remaining Panchayat Vill. Provided with VPT Panchayat Vill.
1. Andaman & Nicobar 67 67 0
2. Andhra Pradesh 19533 18256 1277
3. Assam 2486 2094 392
4. Bihar 11792 6855 4937
5. Gujarat 13510 12410 1100 6. Haryana 5946 5946 0
7 Himachal Pradesh 2922 2584 338
8. J&K 1461 874 587
9. Karnataka 5692 5419 273 10. Kerala 982 982 0 11. Madhya Pradesh 31168 24089 7079 12. Maharashta 24937 22917 2020 13. North East 4347 2542 1805 14. Orissa 5261 5010 251 15. Punjab 12477 11975 502 16. Rajasthan 9184 8620 564 17. Tamil Nadu 13126 13111 15 18. Uttar Pradesh -East 51262 34244 17018 19. Uttar Pradesh- West 19674 14998 4676 20. West Bengal 3325 3278 47 21. Calcutta 468 421 47 22. DELHI 191 191 0
TOTAL 239811 196883 42928