Lok Sabha Question No. 4074 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-08-10
Subject: Village Public Telephone
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: LAXMAN GILUWA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4074 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH   AUGUST, 2016

## VILLAGE PUBLIC TELEPHONE

†4074. SHRI LAXMAN GILUWA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether Village Public Telephone (VPT) facility has been provided to the villages which do not have telephone facility;
- (b) if so, the details of villages provided with VPT so far, State-wise; and
- (c) the action taken by the Government to facilitate remaining villages with VPTs?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b) Bharat  Sanchar  Nigam  Limited  (BSNL)  has  provided  5,82,482  Village  Public Telephones (VPTs) out of 5,93,601 villages as per census 2001 as on 30.06.2016. 8521 villages have  been  found  non  feasible  due  to  various  reasons  such  as  thick  forest,  no  inhabitation, submergence  with  urban  areas  and  security  concerns  etc..  The  state  /  circle  wise  status  of villages that have been provided with VPTs as on 30.06.2016 are at Annexure-I.
- (c) The VPT scheme was started in 2003 when the penetration of mobile telephony was low. It has now lost much of its relevance due to widespread use of mobile phone even in rural areas. 5,41,939 villages out of total 5,97,608 villages in the country as per census 2011 are already covered with mobile services, leaving only 55,669 villages, i.e., 9.31%, without coverage. (Statewise  details  of  uncovered  villages  are  at Annexure-II). Mobile  coverage  to  these  uncovered villages is likely to be provided in a phased manner, subject to availability of financial resources. Government has prioritised provision of mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected area, North Eastern States, Islands and Himalayan States (Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh) in the first phase.

Contd…2/-

## Status of  State/Circle  wise  villages provisioned with VPT  facility, as per census 2001 as on 30.06.2016

| S.N.   | Name of Circle               | No. of Inhabited Villages   | No. of villages which have been covered with VPT facility   |
|--------|------------------------------|-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1      | Andaman & Nicobar Islands    | 501                         | 352                                                         |
| 2      | Andhra Pradesh               | 26613                       | 25107                                                       |
| 3      | Assam                        | 25124                       | 24692                                                       |
| 4      | Bihar                        | 39032                       | 38941                                                       |
| 5      | Jharkhand                    | 29354                       | 28821                                                       |
| 6      | Gujarat                      | 18159                       | 18054                                                       |
| 7      | Haryana                      | 6764                        | 6678                                                        |
| 8      | Himachal Pradesh             | 17495                       | 17408                                                       |
| 9      | Jammu & Kashmir              | 6417                        | 6385                                                        |
| 10     | Karnataka                    | 27481                       | 27451                                                       |
| 11     | Kerala                       | 1372                        | 1372                                                        |
| 12     | Madhya Pradesh               | 52117                       | 51986                                                       |
| 13     | Chhattisgarh                 | 19744                       | 18328                                                       |
| 14     | Maharashtra                  | 41442                       | 40654                                                       |
| 15     | NE-I                         | 7347                        | 6862                                                        |
| 16     | NE-II                        | 7456                        | 6247                                                        |
| 17     | Odisha                       | 47529                       | 45215                                                       |
| 18     | Punjab                       | 12301                       | 12065                                                       |
| 19     | Rajasthan                    | 39753                       | 39568                                                       |
| 20     | Tamil Nadu                   | 154928                      | 15492                                                       |
| 21     | Uttar Pradesh (East)         | 74161                       | 74145                                                       |
| 22     | Uttar Pradesh (West)         | 23781                       | 23707                                                       |
| 23     | Uttarakhand                  | 15761                       | 15381                                                       |
| 24     | West Bengal including Sikkim | 38405                       | 37571                                                       |
| Total  | Total                        | 5,93,601                    | 5,82,482                                                    |

Contd…3/-

## Annexure-II

## State-wise list of Uncovered Villages (as per census 2011)

| Sr.No.   | Name of the State/UT   | Total number of inhabited villages   | No. of Uncovered Villages   |
|----------|------------------------|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh         | 16335                                | 3812                        |
| 2.       | Arunachal Pradesh      | 5258                                 | 2886                        |
| 3.       | Assam                  | 25372                                | 2885                        |
| 4.       | Bihar                  | 39073                                | 2534                        |
| 5.       | Chhattisgarh           | 19567                                | 4041                        |
| 6.       | Goa                    | 320                                  | 65                          |
| 7.       | Gujarat                | 17843                                | 1275                        |
| 8.       | Haryana                | 6642                                 | 2                           |
| 9.       | Himachal Pradesh       | 17882                                | 2416                        |
| 10.      | Jammu & Kashmir        | 6337                                 | 460                         |
| 11.      | Jharkhand              | 29492                                | 5949                        |
| 12.      | Karnataka              | 27397                                | 0                           |
| 13.      | Kerala                 | 1017                                 | 0                           |
| 14.      | Madhya Pradesh         | 51929                                | 5926                        |
| 15.      | Maharashtra            | 40959                                | 4792                        |
| 16.      | Manipur                | 2515                                 | 610                         |
| 17.      | Meghalaya              | 6459                                 | 2389                        |
| 18.      | Mizoram                | 704                                  | 258                         |
| 19.      | Nagaland               | 1400                                 | 137                         |
| 20.      | Odisha                 | 47675                                | 10398                       |
| 21.      | Punjab                 | 12168                                | 91                          |
| 22.      | Rajasthan              | 43264                                | 770                         |
| 23.      | Sikkim                 | 425                                  | 23                          |
| 24.      | Tamil Nadu             | 15049                                | 113                         |
| 25.      | Telangana              | 10347                                | 1009                        |
| 26.      | Tripura                | 863                                  | 2                           |
| 27.      | Uttar Pradesh          | 97814                                | 266                         |
| 28.      | Uttarakhand            | 15745                                | 1876                        |
| 29.      | West Bengal            | 37469                                | 487                         |
| 30.      | Andaman & Nicobar      | 684                                  | 190                         |
| 31.      | Puducherry             |                                      | 0                           |
| 32.      | Dadra & Nagar Haveli   |                                      | 5                           |
| 33.      | Daman & Diu            |                                      | 1                           |
| 34.      | Lakshadweep            |                                      | 1                           |
| TOTAL    | TOTAL                  | 5,97,608                             | 55,669                      |

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