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MR. CHAIRMAN : Thank you.  Well done.

… (Interruptions)

MR. CHAIRMAN: Nothing will be recorded.

(Interruptions) *…                     * Not recorded SHRI B. MAHTAB (CUTTACK): Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to participate in the discussion on The Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Bill, 2006.  This reminds us of the National Telegraph Policy of 1999. It had set a target of achieving rural tele density from the level of 0.4 in 2002 to 4.0 by the year 2010.  We are told that the rural tele density has increased to 1.77 by the year 2005 and that there is a need to facilitate telecom penetration in the rural areas.  The Government has taken recourse to an easy way of utilizing the USO Fund to extend cellular mobile phones.  The logic that has been put forth is that the cellular mobile services can be deployed for rapid expansion of telephony in rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices. 

We have six lakh villages in this country and still around 50,000 or 60,000 villages are to be provided with a single telephone.  It means around ten per cent of the villages of this country are yet to be provided with a telephone facility.   … (Interruptions)  I am talking about the eligible villages, villages which has a population of more than a fixed number say 300 or 500 persons who live in the village.  … (Interruptions)
MR. CHAIRMAN : Please conclude.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI B. MAHTAB :  When these great strides have been made in expanding telephone facility in this country, manifold increase has been done.    More input also has come in with the introduction of optical fiber.   But, of course, more investment is required to lay optical fiber to provide fixed landlines.   But here the Government is taking recourse to cellular and  BSNL which is a public sector undertaking, is provided with certain job to do and certain targets to  meet.   But now that is being shared. Earlier, a person of rural background was getting a telephone at a cheaper rate.   Now, he is forced to buy the instrument.   The instrument may be costing him around Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 40,000.   … (Interruptions) But by this way, the telephony system is being confined to a specific section of the society.  A large section of the society who is invariably poor, especially in a State like Orissa where around 50 per cent of the people are below the poverty line, how do you provide a telephone in a village?   By cellular mobile ?  This is my concern.   So, I would like to have an assurance from the hon. Minister.  Of course, a large number of political parties representing here in this Parliament are in favour of providing cellular mobile in rural areas.  
MR. CHAIRMAN: Hon. Members, kindly cooperate.  Now, Shri Rijiju.
 
… (Interruptions)
SHRI B. MAHTAB : Sir, let me also ask one or two points.
MR. CHAIRMAN:  Mr. Mahtab, you have already spoken.  He has not spoken in the debates.   He is from the North-East.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI B. MAHTAB :  I am not making any debate now… (Interruptions)
SHRI KIREN RIJIJU : Mr. Minister, you may kindly go back to your statement. You have said that you have gone ahead of the target.  Now, we had invited you for the meeting with the Members of Parliament from the North-East, where unfortunately, you failed to come.  Your Secretary came.  All the promises given there are not being met with.  Now, for example, take the entire districts of Arunachal Pradesh.  Forget about mobile, there is no landline connection even.
SHRI B. MAHTAB :  Yes, Sir.  By November, 2004, some 66,000 odd villages were yet to be  covered with telephony.  By December, 2005, 17,000  villages had already been covered within 13 months time.  You are diverting funds from USO for cellular mobile, Another  49,000 odd villages are yet to be covered.  I wanted an  assurance from the Minister and I am yet to get that.
सभापति महोदय :  मेहताब जी, यह बात हो गयी, उन्होंने इस बारे में काफी रिप्लाइ दिया है।
...( व्यवधान)
SHRI B. MAHTAB : Will this USO fund be provided for expansion of landline telephone, village public telephone to those  villages in a faced manner?  The assurance is there that by 2007 all villages will be covered.