BharatNet kicks off in Tamil Nadu after long delay

The project was embroiled in a controversy after two bureaucrats raised questions over the tender which underwent 'massive changes' to favour 'specific companies'

After several delays, the ambitious BharatNet project aimed at providing broadband internet connectivity of 1 Gbps to over 12,500 villages in Tamil Nadu kicked off on Thursday with Chief Minister M K Stalin launching the laying of Optic Fibre Cables (OFC) in Kanyakumari district via video conferencing.

The project, which will be implemented in 12,524 villages in 38 districts of Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 1,627.83 crore, has been divided into four packages. Stalin launched the work of laying the OFC in Muthalakurichi village panchayat in Thakkalai block of the district from Fort St. George, the seat of power of the Tamil Nadu government.

Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation Limited (TANFINET) will implement the project through system integrators and third party agencies. In a statement, the Tamil Nadu government said the BharatNet project will provide broadband connectivity with a speed of 1 Gbps to over 12,000 village panchayats.

“The project, once implemented, will enable people in rural areas to access at less cost digital services like e-education, tele-medicine and triple play services. People in the hinterland will also be able to access government services much faster due to high-speed broadband connectivity at government offices and schools,” the statement said.

The project, which will also bridge the “technological gap” between urban and rural areas of the state, will be implemented in four packages – each package has a system integrator and a third-party agency. While A and B packages will cover nine districts each, the C and D packages will cover 10 districts each.

Package A covers Chennai, and its neighbouring districts of Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, and Tiruvallur, and northern districts like Vellore, Krishnagiri, Tirupattur, Ranipet, and Tiruvannamalai.

The project for which the then AIADMK government and the Centre entered into an MoU on December 26, 2017 was embroiled in a controversy after two senior bureaucrats reportedly raised questions over the tender which underwent “massive changes” to favour “specific companies.”

The then Information Technology (IT) Secretary Santhosh Babu, who sought VRS after the incident, and then TANFINET Managing Director M S Shanmugam, now Secretary-3 to Stalin, were transferred immediately and the tender was approved by their successors.

However, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) scrapped the tender holding that the bidding conditions are “restrictive and discriminatory” in nature, following a complaint filed by Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO.

In its complaint, Arappor Iyakkam alleged that new IT Secretary Hans Raj Verma IAS and TANFINET MD D Ravichandran made massive changes on April 15, 2020 by increasing turnover and experience of the company and changing router configuration to suit “specific companies.”

However, the then IT minister R B Udhayakumar had justified changes in the tender documents, while dismissing charges of corruption. The fresh tender also landed in the court but the decks were cleared for implementation of the project by the Madras High Court last month.