Minister of State for IT and Telecommunications Sachin Pilot has told the Rajya Sabha that the Government is considering using solar energy to tide over power deficiency in tribal and hilly areas, according to news reports.
He also said that there was an urgent need to solarise mobile towers and that power shortage in some states was impeding installation of these towers. He added that the government was looking at various options, including public private partnership, to make up for the deficiency.
Pilot said that while 604 towers of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) installed in tribal areas of Orissa have already been activated, 46 of 1023 towers in Jharkhand and 107 out of 759 towers in Chhattisgarh are still be activated.
He added that this will be done by June 2011. Pilot said 98 per cent villages in Jharkhand have already been given rural telephone connections besides some satellite phones.
