(a) the steps taken by the Government to address the problems of Mobile Network and Internet in the maoist areas of the State of Odisha; and
(b) the number of people likely to be benefited if the maoist areas of Odisha are provided with Internet and Mobile Networks facilities and if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS
(SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)
(a) & (b) To improve the mobile network and internet connectivity, Government has decided to upgrade the 2,343 existing 2G sites under Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Phase-I project to 4G which includes 256 sites in the State of Odisha. District wise list of the no. of tower locations in Odisha State under LWE Phase-I Project is enclosed as Annexure-I. The project is to be completed in 12 months.
Further, LWE Phase-II project is also under implementation for covering 2,542 tower locations identified by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the LWE affected areas across the 10 States. Through LWE Phase-II project 483 mobile towers (4G based) are to be installed in the state of Odisha. District wise list of the no. of tower location in Odisha State under LWE Phase-II Project is enclosed as Annexure-II. The people residing within the radius of about 4 Kms of the Mobile Tower likely to be benefited with the mobile network. The project was awarded in October 2021 and is to be completed in 18 months.