Lok Sabha Question No. 3506 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-12-07
Subject: Green Energy for Towers
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3506 TO BE ANSWERED ON 7 TH   DECEMER, 2016

## GREEN ENERGY FOR TOWERS

3506. SHRIMATI RAKSHATAI KHADSE:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to establish cell phone towers in rural and remote areas powered by Green/Renewable energy services to improve the village connectivity especially in the naxal-hit areas;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the  details  of  mobile  towers  so  powered  installed  in  the  country,  State  and operator-wise;
- (d) the time line fixed by the Government to achieve the target; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  is  providing  any  incentive  to  telecom  operators  for connecting their towers to Green technology and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) to (c) 1836 new mobile towers based on solar energy are being setup in ten left  wing  extremist  affected  States.  The  work  is  being  executed  by  Bharat  Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).  As on 21.11.2016, 1831 new mobile towers out of 1836 have been made functional. Further, BSNL has set up 119 mobile towers powered by Solar energy at different locations in the country under other scheme such as Jawahar Lal Nehru Solar Mission etc. State-wise break-up is at Annexure.
- (d) Based  on  the  recommendations  of  Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India (TRAI),  DoT  has  issued  directions  for  implementation  of  Green  Technologies  in Telecom  Sector,  whereby  75  percent  of  rural  towers  are  to  be  powered  by  hybrid power [Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) + Grid Power] by 2020.
- (e) No, Madam.

## ANNEXURE

## State-wise breakup of mobile tower locations with Green/ Renewable Energy

| S. No.   | State            |   No. of towers powered by solar energy set up by BSNL |   No. of towers powered by solar energy under LWE project |
|----------|------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh   |                                                      0 |                                                        40 |
| 2.       | Bihar            |                                                      1 |                                                       184 |
| 3.       | Chhattisgarh     |                                                      1 |                                                       146 |
| 4.       | Jharkhand        |                                                      1 |                                                       782 |
| 5.       | Maharashtra      |                                                      1 |                                                        57 |
| 6.       | Madhya Pradesh   |                                                      0 |                                                        16 |
| 7.       | Odisha           |                                                      1 |                                                       248 |
| 8.       | Telangana        |                                                      0 |                                                       184 |
| 9.       | Uttar Pradesh    |                                                      6 |                                                        78 |
| 10.      | West Bengal      |                                                      3 |                                                        96 |
| 11       | Gujarat          |                                                      1 |                                                         0 |
| 12       | Haryana          |                                                      4 |                                                         0 |
| 13       | Himachal Pradesh |                                                     19 |                                                         0 |
| 14       | Jammu & Kashmir  |                                                     16 |                                                         0 |
| 15       | Karnataka        |                                                      4 |                                                         0 |
| 16       | Kerala           |                                                      3 |                                                         0 |
| 17       | Punjab           |                                                      4 |                                                         0 |
| 18       | Rajasthan        |                                                      5 |                                                         0 |
| 19       | Tamil Nadu       |                                                      4 |                                                         0 |
| 20       | North East       |                                                     19 |                                                         0 |
| 21       | Uttarakhand      |                                                     26 |                                                         0 |
|          | Total            |                                                    119 |                                                      1831 |

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