BharatNet Phase II continues its delayed run; Maha, Andhra among worst performing states

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BharatNet, the government’s ambitious project, is lagging behind schedule yet again. The second phase, which was supposed to provide connectivity to 1.5 lakh gram panchayats, has just completed 7.45 percent of its goal till date.

As of December 2018, only 92,283 km out of the target 3.11 lakh km of optical fibre cable has been laid down. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha were the four worst-performing states, The Indian Express reported. These four states have not even achieved one percent of their target 28,263 villages, but have spent about Rs 950 crore, which is over 17 percent of the allocated budget. 

The project in these states is being handled by private agencies, instead of the debt-ladder BSNL. State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam’s progress report has a no different story. In Uttar Pradesh West region and Sikkim, not a single panchayat is service-ready.

In East Uttar Pradesh, out of the 17,032 gram panchayats, only 702 are service ready. 

Meanwhile, the Centre aims at finishing the pending work for BharatNet Phase I in Assam, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh. The work for phase II in these states will be completed under the public-private partnership, the report stated.