Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta on Wednesday ordered that all unconnected villages be brought on the digital network by the end of the current financial year.
Mehta was reviewing the implementation of the National Broadband Mission in Jammu & Kashmir in a meeting of the UT Broadband Committee.
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It was informed that the National Broadband Mission (NBM) is fast-tracking the growth of digital communication infrastructure to bridge the digital divide and facilitate digital empowerment and inclusion while focussing on affordable and universal access to broadband.
It was further informed that the Mission aims to connect all villages to the broadband network by 2022, with only 100 such villages left in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chief Secretary asked the Department of Telecommunications to reconcile the data on unconnected villages with the concerned Deputy Commissioners and by referring to the village maps already uploaded on the land records portal of the union territory Government to ensure that all unconnected villages are brought on the digital network by the end of this financial year.
Moreover, to facilitate universal and equitable access to broadband services, a Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) agreement has been signed to provide mobile coverage in 88 uncovered villages in the UT.
Dr. Mehta directed early resolution of all pending issues for expeditious coverage of these far-flung areas and asked the Power Development Department to provide reliable electricity supply to the concerned IT installations.
The Chief Secretary directed the district administrations to review the district-level progress achieved under the National Broadband Mission and resolve the pending RoW issues on regular basis.