BSNL installs 363 towers in naxal affected areas
MUMBAI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has installed a total of 363 mobile towers in the naxal affected areas, after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) identified 2199 locations to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for installation of mobile towers in nine states which are affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and do not currently have any coverage by any service provider.
BSNL has covered 363 out of the 2199 locations including 351 in Chattisgarh, six in Madhya Pradesh, three in Andhra Pradesh and three in Maharashtra. The scheme of installation of mobile towers is funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
The total number of locations identified by the MHA comprised of 227 in Andhra Pradesh, 184 in Bihar, 497 in Chattisgarh, 782 in Jharkhand, 22 in Madhya Pradesh, 60 in Maharashtra, 253 in Odisha, 78 in Uttar Pradesh and 96 in West Bengal.
In May 2007, the USOF launched a scheme called the Shared Mobile Infrastructure Scheme (SMIS) to provide subsidy support for setting up and managing 7353 infrastructure sites/towers in 500 districts. These included the LWE affected districts spread over 27 states for provision of mobile services in the specified rural and remote areas, where there was no existing fixed, wireless or mobile coverage.
Villages which have a population of 2000 or more and having no mobile coverage, were taken into consideration for installation of towers under the scheme. 673 mobile towers were targeted in the 11th Five Year Plan under the scheme in LWE affected districts and all these towers have been installed.
The details of subsidy disbursed by USOF under shared mobile infrastructure scheme upto February 2013 include 42.33 crore for Andhra Pradesh, 11.21cr in Bihar, 30.57 for Chattisgarh, 8.34 for Jharkhand, 17.76 in Madhya Pradesh, 30.01 in Maharashtra, 12.35 in Odisha, 35.28 in Uttar Pradesh and 4.12 in West Bengal.
The Ministry also stated that in the 12th Plan period, all villages which presently do not have mobile coverage will be provided with connectivity under a scheme funded by USOF.
