(a) whether the Government has any proposal for village connectivity with reliable, viable and feasible
telephone and radio-telephony including mobile under Bharat Nirman programme;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the funds allocated and the equipments allotted since the starting of the scheme, location-wise;
(d) whether there is any difference between normal telephone development programme and Bharat
Nirman programmes; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)
(a) & (b) Under telephone component of Bharat Nirman Programme, Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)
has entered into an agreement with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in November, 2004 for provision of
Village Public Telephones (VPTs) in 66,822 remaining unconnected villages in the country.This excludes villages
having population less than 100, lying in thick forest areas/naxalite infested areas etc. Out of these 66,822 villages,
14,183 remotely located villages were to be provided VPTs through Digital Satellite Phone Terminals (DSPTs). As
on 31st July, 2007 a total number of 49,240 VPTs have been provided.
(c) A sum of Rs. 277.11 crore has been allocated by USOF for the scheme during the year 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Out of this, Rs. 87.25 crore has been disbursed as subsidy support for provision of these VPTs since the starting
of the scheme. Details are given below:-
(Rs. in crore) Year Allocation Subsidy disbursement 2005-06 29.86 2006-07 117.11 55.40 2007-08 (First Quarter) 160.00 1.99