Arunachal MP demands execution of mobile connectivity project in his state

New Delhi, Jul 29 :  Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal East Ninong Ering will sit on a day's protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Parliament complex, if the Government failed to clear the project related to mobile connectivity for uncovered villages in Arunachal Pradesh by August 14, 2017. In a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Ering said, 'An inordinate delay in providing mobile connectivity project for the villages of Arunachal Pradesh by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is a matter of grave concern for the villagers of the state." In his letter written on July 26, 2017, Mr Ering said the project was passed by the Cabinet in September 2014 and was among the first flagship programme of the Modi Government. Since then people of Arunachal Pradesh have been waiting for the completion of the project which will provide mobile connectivity to the uncovered villages of the state. 'However, the zeal is lacking at the bureaucratic level and all the good efforts of the Prime Minister are entangled in the Red Tapism,' he wrote to the Prime Minister. 'Consequently, poor people of Arunachal Pradesh are suffering due to incompetency of a few officials of Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF),' he wrote in his letter to Mr Modi. Mr Ering said as per the assurance given by Minster for Telecommunications Manoj Sinha, BSNL was supposed to give purchase order to successful bidders in May 2017. But USOF has yet not given its nod for the purchase and no headway has been made on the advancement of the project. 'I fail to understand the delay being made by USOF officials. Instead of giving its clearance, USOF officials are trying to delay and derail the project,' the Arunachal MP wrote. Asking for Prime Minister’s intervention in it, Mr Ering said he is writing in this connection for quite some time, but the project is not taking off. 'In case Government fails to clear this project by August 14, 2017, I will sit on a day's protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Parliament House,' he wrote. On September 10, 2014, the Centre had approved a proposal to implement a Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North East Region. The Project envisaged to provide mobile coverage of 8,621 identified uncovered villages, installing 321 mobile tower sites along National Highways and strengthening of transmission network in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 5,336.18-crore and it was to be funded from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). For the said project in Arunachal Pradesh, tenders were floated and the names of the successful bidders were announced. But since then, no progress has been made on the project. UNI