(a) the number of tribal villages provided with telecommunication facilities in Orissa;
(b) the number of villages yet to be provided with telecommunication facilities;
(c) whether the Government has set any target to cover all the tribal villages in Orissa; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)
(a) Out of 18,477 Tribal villages, 13,171 Tribal villages have been provided with telecommunication facilities in Orissa.
(b) 5,306 Tribal villages are yet to be provided with telecommunication facilities as on 30-11-2005.
(c) & (d) Out of 5,306 remaining unconnected villages in tribal areas, 4,268 villages will be covered by Digital Satellite Phone Terminals (DSPT) progressively by November 2007. The remaining 1,038 are not planned to be covered due to reasons such as, de-populated villages/ villages having population of less than 100, lying in thick forest areas/ naxalite infested areas etc.