Lok Sabha Question No. 4254 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: Improvement of Mobile Network in Chhattisgarh
Ministry: COMMUNICATION
Asked by: Shri Brijmohan Agrawal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4254 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH  MARCH, 2025

## IMPROVEMENT OF MOBILE NETWORK IN CHHATTISGARH

## †4254.  SHRI BRIJMOHAN AGRAWAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is implementing any special scheme to improve mobile network and internet connectivity in rural and remote areas of Chhattisgarh and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government is giving priority to the extension of 5G network in Chhattisgarh and if so, the details of the areas where this service has been made available so far;
- (c) whether the Government is formulating any scheme to open new post offices or to digitalise postal services in Chhattisgarh and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the steps being taken to improve BSNL services in Chhattisgarh, particularly in rural areas; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to expand post office banking services in Chhattisgarh to provide better financial services in rural areas and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) & (b) Out of 20,072 villages in Chhattisgarh (as per data of Registrar General of India), 19,123 villages are covered with mobile connectivity.

As on February 2025, 6,644 numbers of 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) have been installed  across  33  districts  in  Chhattisgarh.  The  District  wise  details  of  5G  BTS  installed  in Chhattisgarh are at Annexure .

Government  is  implementing  various  schemes  under  Digital  Bharat  Nidhi  (DBN)  for expansion of telecom connectivity through installation of 4G mobile towers in the rural, tribal and remote areas of the country, including Chhattisgarh. As on February 2025, 1,341 towers have been commissioned in Chhattisgarh under DBN funded mobile schemes, providing 4G mobile coverage to 1,461 villages.

(c) New post offices are opened as per prescribed norms and is an ongoing process. 573 Post offices have been opened in the last 5 years to provide access to postal facilities and other services in Chhattisgarh Circle. Under IT 2.0, Branch Post Offices functioning in rural areas of the country have  been  provided  with  mobile  devices  for  carrying  out  online  postal,  financial  and  insurance transactions. As regards Parcel Services, track and trace has been implemented across the country,

including  Chhattisgarh,  with  a  view  to  improve  the  delivery  process  and  provide  for  real  time tracking.

(d) BSNL is executing Phase IX.2 project, 4G saturation project and LWE Phase-I upgradation projects to improve mobile services in Chhattisgarh. As on 28.02.2025, total 2909 4G sites have been commissioned by BSNL in the above projects in Chhattisgarh.

- (e) Department of Posts through India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is already offering banking facilities  through  4,469  Post  Offices  in  Chhattisgarh  and  has  transformed  its  Post  Offices  into banking access points. IPPB is offering a range of services and products such as savings and current accounts, virtual debit card, internet and mobile banking, domestic money transfer services, bill and utility  payments, insurance services for  IPPB customers, online payment for Post Office Savings schemes, eKYC, Aadhaar enabled payment system (AePS). Further, the Department of Posts also operates small savings schemes on behalf of Ministry of Finance, including in Chhattisgarh State.

## Annexure

Annexure referred to in reply of part (a) to (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4254 to be  answered  on  26 th   March,  2025  raised  by  Hon'ble  Member  of  Parliament  regarding 'Improvement of Mobile Network in Chhattisgarh'

District wise details of 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) in Chhattisgarh:

|   S. No. | District Name                   |   Numbers of 5G BTS |
|----------|---------------------------------|---------------------|
|        1 | Balod                           |                  88 |
|        2 | Baloda Bazar                    |                 179 |
|        3 | Balrampur                       |                 114 |
|        4 | Bastar                          |                 209 |
|        5 | Bemetara                        |                 116 |
|        6 | Bijapur                         |                  70 |
|        7 | Bilaspur                        |                 637 |
|        8 | Dantewada                       |                  56 |
|        9 | Dhamtari                        |                 171 |
|       10 | Durg                            |                 721 |
|       11 | Gariaband                       |                  74 |
|       12 | Gaurela Pendra Marwahi          |                  42 |
|       13 | Janjgir-Champa                  |                 254 |
|       14 | Jashpur                         |                 184 |
|       15 | Kabirdham                       |                 160 |
|       16 | Kanker                          |                 151 |
|       17 | Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai   |                  33 |
|       18 | Kondagaon                       |                  88 |
|       19 | Korba                           |                 409 |
|       20 | Koriya                          |                  80 |
|       21 | Mahasamund                      |                 204 |
|       22 | Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur |                  66 |
|       23 | Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chouki    |                  29 |
|       24 | Mungeli                         |                  96 |
|       25 | Narayanpur                      |                  26 |
|       26 | Raigarh                         |                 381 |
|       27 | Raipur                          |                1152 |
|       28 | Rajnandgaon                     |                 214 |
|       29 | Sakti                           |                 154 |
|       30 | Sarangarh-Bilaigarh             |                 138 |
|       31 | Sukma                           |                  42 |
|       32 | Surajpur                        |                 135 |
|       33 | Surguja                         |                 171 |

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