512 villages in state do not have telecom connectivity: Centre
Out of the 17,843 inhabited villages in Gujarat, about three per cent does not have mobile telecommunication connectivity.
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The district of Dang has a maximum of 98 villages without telecommunication connectivity, while Kutch — the largest district in terms of area — has 83 villages without connectivity.
In Gujarat a total of 512 villages do not have telecom connectivity, the Loksabha was told during the ongoing budget session. Out of the 17,843 inhabited villages in Gujarat, about three per cent does not have mobile telecommunication connectivity.
While 32 per cent of villages in tribal district of Dang have no connectivity, Kutch (9.5 per cent of the total villages) and Narmada districts (12 per cent) also have high percentage of villages that lack telecommunication facilities, stated Devusinh Chauhan, Union minister of state for communications, in a reply to a question posed by BJP MP Mansukhbhai Vasava in the Lok Sabha.
The district of Dang has a maximum of 98 villages without telecommunication connectivity, while Kutch — the largest district in terms of area — has 83 villages without connectivity.
The predominantly tribal district of Narmada with 67 villages stands third in the list of districts that have rural areas without any telecommunication connectivity.
The government stated that the December 2020 data was provided by telecom service providers and field units of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
When compared to other states, the lack of telecom connectivity in Gujarat looks more stark. As of December 2020, all the villages in states like Punjab, Haryana, Kerala and National Capital Territory of Delhi, have mobile connectivity.
In larger states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. where 327 villages, 245 villages, 8 villages, 49 villages, and 441 villages respectively do not have telecommunication connectivity, in numbers far less compared to Gujarat.
Only larger states like Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, where 6,099 villages, 2,328 villages, 2,612 villages, 1,787 villages respectively do not have telecommunication connectivity, and thus have more rural areas lacking mobile connectivity.
In Gujarat, 100 per cent of the villages of Anand, Gamdhinagar, Kheda and Mehsana districts have mobile connectivity. According to TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), there are 6.86 crore mobile users in Gujarat, as on November 2021.
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