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BharatNet likely to miss the 2025 deadline owing to multiple factors

The implementation of the Central government’s flagship agrarian net connectivity scheme, BharatNet, has slowed and is apt to miss the 2025 completion deadline owing to a fig of factors, sources successful the cognize of the improvement said.

Consider this: arsenic of February 2022, lone astir 1.72 lakh of the initially targeted 2.5 lakh gram panchayats had been connected to the cardinal grid nether BharatNet. Of these, 1.5 lakh gram panchayats had been connected by 2017, wrong archetypal the 3 years of the task being re-christened ‘BharatNet’.

In the adjacent 5 years, lone astir 22,360 gram panchayats person been connected. In August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded the scope of the task erstwhile helium announced that BharatNet would purpose to link each 6 lakh villages implicit the adjacent 1,000 days alternatively of conscionable the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats.

DoT officials said though the people nether BharatNet has present been revised to link each villages alternatively of conscionable the gram panchayats, enactment astatine adjacent the gram panchayat level has slowed down considerably.

On an average, lone astir 3,500 km of optical fibre is being laid each period portion astir 1,600 gram panchayats are being connected, a elder DoT authoritative said. Though determination are nary “official targets” arsenic such, the purpose is to laic up to 5,000 km of optical fibre and link up to 2,500 gram panchayats to BharatNet per month.

“Of the 1.72 lakh gram panchayats that person been connected truthful far, the purpose ever is to guarantee upkeep and attraction truthful that astatine slightest 1 lakh gram panchayats are successful up mode. That fig implicit the past three-four months has fallen down to 60,000,” the authoritative said.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) considers a gram panchayat connected to BharatNet successful the “up mode” if determination is continuous usage of net successful these places. To guarantee the same, astir of these connections are fixed to gram panchayat buildings oregon schools successful the country wherever the net tin beryllium used. To guarantee the same, regular checks of the optical fibre laid successful the country are conducted.

This task is going to beryllium harder erstwhile the task starts connecting each the villages arsenic well, the authoritative said. Apart from this, DoT officials besides pointed retired that the “multiple shifts successful targets provided to the agencies which were executing the project”.

“Take for illustration BBNL (Bharat Broadband Network Limited). In the archetypal twelvemonth of BharatNet, the absorption was connected cognition of the project. Later, the bureau was asked to besides instrumentality implicit the attraction of BharatNet. During the 2 years of pandemic, erstwhile the optical fibre cablegram laying enactment was slow, the absorption shifted to ensuring utilisation,” 1 authoritative said, asking not to beryllium named.

Another issue, officials said, is that the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode for implementation of BharatNet, which was approved by the Union Cabinet successful June 2021, is yet to instrumentality off.

The archetypal petition for connection (RFP) for implementation of the project, which was floated successful July 2021, failed to get immoderate effect from backstage players. Even arsenic precocious arsenic February 2022, determination was nary involvement shown by backstage players to spouse with the authorities for implementation of the scheme, the officials said.

A caller RFP is present being prepared by the DoT with respective presumption and conditions apt to beryllium relaxed. The authorities is besides apt to presume immoderate of the risks associated with the task to envisage much involvement from backstage players, 1 of the officials said.

“Consultations with backstage players are going connected close now, aft which the caller RFP volition beryllium floated. This full process volition instrumentality astir 2-3 months, pursuing which bids volition beryllium opened. We anticipation to commencement PPP implementation by the extremity of this year,” 1 of the officials quoted supra said.

Under the PPP mode implementation of BharatNet approved by the Union Cabinet successful June past year, a concessionaire selected done a competitory planetary bidding process volition beryllium liable for creation, upgradation, operation, attraction and utilisation of BharatNet.

As per the connection approved then, the full outgo of the task was estimated astatine Rs Rs 29,432 crore, of which the authorities had to walk Rs 19,041 crore arsenic viability spread funding.

The Indian Express had successful January 2020 reported that with the panchayat net connectivity strategy floundering astatine the past mile owed to the nonaccomplishment of the implementation agencies, the DoT had been looking to bring successful the backstage assemblage to implicit the pending projects nether Phases 1 and 2 of BharatNet.

The PPP exemplary had past been suggested by authorities think-tank Niti Aayog arsenic good arsenic the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. SerayuMedia

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