The setting up of a communications network in Maoist areas may be further delayed as the Telecom Commission on Thursday decided to put out a fresh tender for the purchase of mobile tower equipment. “We will re-tender the project in the coming 15 days as its cost is working out to be a bit higher right now,” said a source in the Department of Telecom.
Mobile towers in the Maoist areas were supposed to be ready by June, but the project is delayed because cost estimates by state-run BSNL exceeded the budget. The commission, a government appointed body headed by Telecom Secretary M F Faroqqui, also approved a new penalty scheme, which has five slabs ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50 crore, for violation of norms by mobile operators.
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