Taking a big step towards Digital India, the Haryana Government has launched an ambitious project in collaboration with BSNL to provide free Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) internet connections to government institutions in the Gram Panchayats of the state. Under this programme, the BSNL has successfully installed 31,741 connections till December 31, 2024.
Chief Secretary Dr Vivek Joshi chaired the second meeting of the State Broadband Committee here today wherein it was informed that this project worth Rs 130 crore has been jointly funded by the Central and State Governments. The initiative aims to enhance digital connectivity and empower rural communities by providing them access to high-speed internet services.
Each Gram Panchayat will be provided 10 FTTH connections for two years from the date of installation. The connections are being provided free of cost, which will significantly improve digital access for government functions.
The issues discussed in the meeting today also included implementation of Right of Way (RoW) Rules 2024 with RoW charges and functionality alignment as per RoW Rules 2024 in the existing Invest Haryana portal, implementation of RoW application status and deemed approval, Call Before You Dig (CBUD) initiative, implementation of Digital Communication Readiness Index (DCRI), Green Energy Open Access and Composite Billing, uploading of street furniture data on Gati Shakti portal of State Master Plan for 5G rollout, implementation of 5G form for street furniture RoW applications by service providers and expansion of Bharat-Net services through BSNL for providing FTTH.
The meeting was informed that Digital Communication Readiness Index (DCRI) has been started. In line with the initiative, a Hartron team in collaboration with Haryana Enterprises Promotion Centre (HEPC) has developed and tested 5G deployment forms for Street Furniture Right of Way (ROW) Application. These forms have been successfully tested on staging server and integrated with central ROW portal in collaboration with technical team of Department of Telecommunication.
Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works (Buildings & Roads) Department, Sh. Anurag Agarwal, Commissioner & Secretary, Citizen Information Resources Department, Sh. Vikas Gupta and Special Secretary, Information Technology, Electronics & Communication, Sh. Ajay Singh Tomer along with senior officials of BSNL and related departments were present in the meeting.