Lok Sabha Question No. 124 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-02
Subject: Phase I & II of BharatNet
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Rajiv Pratap Rudy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 124 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 ND  FEBRUARY, 2022

## PHASE I & II OF BHARATNET

## 124. SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the status of implementation of Phase I and Phase II of the BharatNet project, State/UT-wise with the number of Gram Panchayats covered so far, State/UT-wise including Bihar;
- (b) whether the Government has fixed a timeline by which all the Gram Panchayats will be provided with Broadband connectivity and if so, the details in this regard, State/UT-wise including Bihar;
- (c) whether the BharatNet project has been severely delayed in meeting the targets under both Phase I and Phase II of the project and if so, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether it is a fact that Government is implementing the scheme in 16 states via PPP model and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the details of scheme implementation in the remaining States not covered under PPP mode for BharatNet including Bihar?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

- (a) BharatNet project is implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country including Bihar.

As on 31-12-2021, the State/UT-wise status of Phase-I and Phase-II of BharatNet in the country, including Bihar, is given in Annexure-I.

- (b) The time-line for providing connectivity to all villages including Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country under BharatNet is August, 2023.  In Bihar, BharatNet project is almost completed as 8299 GPs, out of planned 8405 GPs, have been made Service Ready.
- (c) Under BharatNet Phase-II, about 65,000 GPs in 8 States are being implemented under State-led model.  The  implementation  by  some  States  are  not  meeting  the  targeted  time-lines  and  is  adversely affecting the completion of the Project. Further, the other problems faced in the implementation of the project are mainly on account of widely dispersed Gram Panchayats (GPs) across remote corners of the country,  covering  difficult  terrains  (including  Hilly/  Rocky),  Right  of  Way  (RoW)  issues  and  also difficulty of access in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas.
- (d) & (e) On 30.06.2021, the scope of BharatNet was extended upto all inhabited villages beyond GPs, along with approval for a revised strategy for implementation of BharatNet through Public-Private Partnership  (PPP)  model,  covering  3.61  lakh  villages  including  GPs  across  16  States  of  the  country. Request for Proposal (RFP) has been floated for implementing the project for 16 States under PPP model on 20.07.2021.

Further,  Cabinet  has  also  given  in-principle  approval  for  extending  village  connectivity  under BharatNet  for  all  the  remaining  States/UTs.  In  Bihar,  BharatNet  connectivity  upto  villages  is  already under implementation through CSC e-Governance Services India Limited.

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in Part (a) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 124 for answer on 02.02.2022

## BharatNet status as on 31-12-2021 of Phase-I and Phase-II, State/UT-wise including Bihar

| S.No.   | State/UT                           | GPs Planned in Phase- I   |   GPs Planned in Phase-II |   Total Planned | GPs Service ready in Phase-I   |   GPs Service ready in Phase-II |   Total Service Ready GPs |
|---------|------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|-----------------|--------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------|
| 1       | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           | 66                        |                         4 |              70 | 20                             |                               4 |                        24 |
| 2       | Andhra Pradesh*                    | 1692                      |                     11734 |           13426 | 1680                           |                              27 |                      1707 |
| 3       | Arunachal                          | 79                        |                      1717 |            1796 | 79                             |                             689 |                       768 |
| 4       | Assam                              | 1506                      |                      1158 |            2664 | 1502                           |                               5 |                      1507 |
| 5       | Bihar                              | 5720                      |                      2685 |            8405 | 5654                           |                            2645 |                      8299 |
| 6       | Chandigarh                         | 12                        |                         0 |              12 | 12                             |                               0 |                        12 |
| 7       | Chhattisgarh*                      | 4048                      |                      7634 |           11682 | 4048                           |                            4571 |                      8619 |
| 8       | Daman &Diu and Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 36                        |                         2 |              38 | 38                             |                               0 |                        38 |
| 9       | Goa#                               |                           |                       191 |             191 |                                |                               0 |                         0 |
| 10      | Gujarat*                           | 6595                      |                      7692 |           14287 | 6430                           |                            7588 |                     14018 |
| 11      | Haryana                            | 6082                      |                       177 |            6259 | 6082                           |                               0 |                      6082 |
| 12      | Himachal Pradesh                   | 252                       |                      2974 |            3226 | 251                            |                             155 |                       406 |
| 13      | Jammu &Kashmir                     | 413                       |                      3868 |            4281 | 408                            |                             647 |                      1055 |
| 14      | Jharkhand*                         | 2707                      |                      1688 |            4395 | 2583                           |                            1558 |                      4141 |
| 15      | Karnataka                          | 6084                      |                         2 |            6086 | 6083                           |                               0 |                      6083 |
| 16      | Kerala                             | 977                       |                         1 |             978 | 977                            |                               1 |                       978 |
| 17      | Ladakh                             | 0                         |                       193 |             193 |                                |                             188 |                       188 |
| 18      | Lakshadweep                        | 0                         |                        10 |              10 | 0                              |                               9 |                         9 |
| 19      | Madhya Pradesh                     | 12544                     |                     10297 |           22841 | 12533                          |                            4491 |                     17024 |
| 20      | Maharashtra*                       | 15171                     |                     13066 |           28237 | 15159                          |                            6606 |                     21765 |
| 21      | Manipur                            | 320                       |                      2465 |            2785 | 315                            |                            1121 |                      1436 |
| 22      | Meghalaya                          | 122                       |                      1669 |            1791 | 122                            |                             503 |                       625 |
| 23      | Mizoram                            | 41                        |                       722 |             763 | 41                             |                             411 |                       452 |
| 24      | Nagaland                           | 127                       |                       867 |             994 | 116                            |                             114 |                       230 |
| 25      | Odisha*                            | 3810                      |                      2989 |            6799 | 3809                           |                            2644 |                      6453 |
| 26      | Puducherry                         | 98                        |                        10 |             108 | 98                             |                               0 |                        98 |
| 27      | Punjab                             | 7948                      |                      5389 |           13337 | 7951                           |                            4717 |                     12668 |
| 28      | Rajasthan                          | 8747                      |                      2605 |           11352 | 8739                           |                              30 |                      8769 |
| 29      | Sikkim                             | 49                        |                       136 |             185 | 22                             |                               1 |                        23 |
| 30      | Tamil Nadu*$                       | 0                         |                     12520 |           12520 | 0                              |                               0 |                         0 |
| 31      | Telangana*                         | 1946                      |                     10823 |           12769 | 1946                           |                            4471 |                      6417 |
| 32      | Tripura                            | 584                       |                       437 |            1021 | 578                            |                             142 |                       720 |
| 33      | Uttar Pradesh                      | 28031                     |                     31334 |           59365 | 27844                          |                            6836 |                     34680 |
| 34      | Uttarakhand                        | 1831                      |                      6131 |            7962 | 1513                           |                             129 |                      1642 |
| 35      | West Bengal                        | 2676                      |                       672 |            3348 | 2308                           |                               0 |                      2308 |
|         | Total                              | 120314                    |                    143862 |          264176 | 118941                         |                           50303 |                    169244 |

****

****