‘BharatNet is a good idea but lack of Right of Way, last-mile connectivity may delay project’

The Indian Express
March 12, 2020

BharatNet as an idea is good, but the challenges of Right of Way as well as the lack of last-mile connectivity, which were not taken into factor when the project began, are likely to delay the completion of the gram panchayat internet connectivity project, STL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anand Agarwal told The Indian Express.

“BharatNet is almost like a spur network, a block to panchayat connectivity. The model itself of BBNL (Bharat Broadband Network Limited) doing it and not tying the rental and service part together as well as lack of end-to-end connectivity is lacking,” Agarwal said, adding the issue was over-committing and under-delivering.

The government had aimed to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats with internet by March 2020.

“Nowhere in the world can you say that you will connect so many villages and by spending what they are spending, which is around Rs 20,000 crore. Overall, it needs to pushing in two dimensions of assuring block to district connectivity and for marketing it properly,” Agarwal said.

The lack of approved detailed project report, non-existent project implementing agencies, and non-availability of funds have been attributed as the reason for the delay for most of these projects, according to internal documents of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology accessed by The Indian Express.

“As a standalone network, from Day One, you knew that it is like creating a spur network without connecting it to the highway. You promised creating a network in 2-3 years, which was never to be done. In a good year, road networks we are putting up 10,000 km. How can you say that you will connect so many gram panchayat when right of way, accessing, trenching and other things remain a problem,” he said.

The involvement of states by BBNL is likely to spur the connectivity projects, and will help push connectivity from gram panchayat to the villages, Agarwal said.

“Some states it is doing pretty well. Gujarat it is doing pretty well, Maharashtra has picked up. What will again happen is that you will have leading states and then the others will start to copy that, and then that infrastructure will be replicated,” he said. The work has picked up pace in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Odisha, where the states had been asked to take over the BharatNet implementation, according to data. Bihar and Punjab, which are now being handled directly by BBNL, have neared completion.

“The model really is the issue. It is like creating an apartment without anybody ready to rent it. It will get encroached in time,” Agarwal said, adding that in panchayats where the company had undertaken the task, it was making sure that there was end-to-end connectivity.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India Joins Russia in Voting Against West-Backed Move to Expand Powers of OPCW

The Wire: June 28, 2018 New Delhi: India voted against a UK-backed move that will allow the global chemical weapons watchdog to apportion blame for illegal attacks, criticising the decision to grant “unchecked powers” to the head of the group which could be used for “partisan” purposes. On Wednesday, more than two-thirds of the member states of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) voted to authorise the international body to identify the perpetrators and sponsors of a chemical weapons attack. It also specifically called on the OPCW’s technical secretariat to begin work on identifying the perpetrators behind the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The draft decision, sponsored by 30 countries, was adopted at the fourth special session of the conference of the states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention at the Hague, with 82 in favour and 24 negative votes. While Europe, the United States and their allies voted ‘yes’, there was strong oppo...
Read more

As financial insecurity rises in urban India, so does investment in insurance

Image
Scroll.in March 13, 2020 Urban Indians are becoming less confident about their financial security. Up to 58% of them fret over financial independence post retirement, which is a 4% increase from last year. An equal share of urban Indians worry about meeting their daily medical expenses and sustaining their current lifestyle once they stop working. The findings are part of a survey published by Delhi-based Max Life Insurance in association with London-based consultancy Kantar. The firms surveyed 7,014 respondents in 25 cities, including six metros, nine tier-1 cities, and 10 tier-2 cities, between December 2019 and January 2020. Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz The trends Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz A significant share of urban Indians also say their families will have no financial support in the event of the breadwinner’s death. In such a scenario, around 57% believe the family sav...
Read more

ED tracks Swiss Bank A/Cs of Agusta scamster

The Poineer February 10,2019 Rakesh K Singh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has tracked a dozen Swiss bank accounts in the name of Rajiv Saxena, who is key accused in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The ED has also found out accounts held by  his family members and associates where the kickbacks in the now scrapped deal were allegedly parked. Two bank accounts are in the name of Rajiv Saxena’s  associates Pankaj Jain and Sumita Jain who are also the authorised signatories. The  third is in the name of another associate Ajit Singh Bubber, but Rajiv and his family members are authorised signatories. The remaining nine accounts are largely owned and operated by Rajiv, his family members and associates. Rajiv Saxena was deported by the UAE authorities on January 30 and the ED formally arrested him the next day and a court later granted his remand to the agency. He is currently undergoing custodial interrogation by the ED. The agency had in 2017...
Read more