PMO may intervene in telecom project in Red Corridor

The Prime Minister's Office may intervene in clearing the Rs 3,000-crore telecom project in nine Naxal-hit states as the Department of Telecom (DoT) appeared to be dragging its feet due to escalation of cost.
A crucial meeting of Telecom Commission, which was slated for tomorrow, has now been rescheduled indefinitely thereby delaying the project. With election code of conduct likely to come in force soon, the project may either be delayed or may have to be cleared in consultation with Election Commission.
A meeting was held today by T K A Nair, Special Advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had recently toured the Naxal-hit states.

During the meeting, according to official sources, Home Ministry officials apprised him about the continuous delay of the telecom project for last four years and stressed on the need for fast forwarding the process as it was important for security agencies fighting Naxals.
The PMO official, according to the sources, assured the matter may be taken u at the ministerial level and a decision will be taken soon.
The proposal for the setting up of over 2,200 telecom towers in nine Naxal-affected states, forming what is described as the 'Red Corridor', received the union cabinet's nod on June 4 last. But the decision on the selection of the roll-out is not getting finalised.

While DoT refused to comment on the issues, officials in BSNL threw the ball in Telecom department's court saying the tendering procedure had been completed and it was for DoT to complete the rest of the formalities.
The need for better communications in Naxal-affected areas was felt more strongly after the killing of Congress leader Mahendra Karma in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh last year.
The lack of telecom infrastructure in Left Wing Extremism affected areas of Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh severely compromises the position of the security forces vis-a-vis the Maoist ultras.