(a) whether the Government has provided telephone facility to all village Panchayats of the country;
(b) if so, the number of villages Panchayats where telephone facility has been provided so far, particularly in Assam; and
(c) the time by when the telephone facility is likely to be provided to all the village Panchayats in North Eastern Region?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)
(a) No, Sir.
(b) 2,30,788 Gram Panchayats in the country including 2,319 Gram Panchayats in Assam have been provided with telephone facility.
(c) Office of the Administrator Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund has entered into an agreement with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to provide Village Public Telephones (VPTs) by November, 2007 in remaining unconnected villages including Gram Panchayat of N.E Region. This does not include villages which are lying in thick forest/naxalite infected area, villages having less than 100 population etc.