CCS clears the proposed project for wireless roll-out in naxal-affected areas

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared the proposal for rolling out of mobile networks by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in nine states hit by Maoist insurgency.

The mobile rollout will be monitored on a quarterly basis by National Security Council Secretariat, India’s apex security agency looking into the country’s political, economic, energy and strategic security concerns.

The project aims to increase telecom coverage to enhance surveillance by security agencies in these regions, especially in the aftermath of multiple naxal attacks over the past one year.

The project involves installation 2,199 telecom tower sites by BSNL in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will execute the project work while the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) will finance the project. VNL and Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited will supply the telecom equipment for the project.