Official data says more than half of the 7,200 open villages fall in the state of Odisha
According to the official, more than half of the 7,200 untouched villages that are largely inhabited by people from tribal communities, the government aims to provide 4G connectivity by 2023 at an estimated cost of ₹6,466 crore, in the state of Odisha. come. figures.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the provision of mobile services in 7,287 villages in 44 aspirational districts of the five states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha, which are among the least developed districts of India.
The decision comes to a close after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Birsa Munda Museum in Ranchi for the first time on ‘Tribal Gaurav Divas’ or tribal pride day, as part of efforts to reach out to tribal communities ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha. Election
While the exact tribal population that would benefit from the decision was not available, an official said these villages are likely to be over 36 lakh people. The decision to bring mobile connectivity to these 40 constituencies can be seen as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) outreach to tribal communities.
As per the available data, 3,933 untouched villages are covered in Odisha under the project. These include districts like Rayagada (962 villages), Kandhamal (1,094 villages), Malkangiri (306 villages), Gajapati (467 villages), Nabarangpur (17 villages) and Koraput (520 villages) having more than 50% ST population. Is. According to the 2011 census. Similarly, out of 700 villages in Chhattisgarh, 418 villages are in districts like Bijapur, Narayanpur and Bastar, where tribals are in majority.
827 villages of Jharkhand will be connected with districts like Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Khunti, East Singhbhum, Sahibganj and Simdega. 610 villages of districts like Gadchiroli and Nandurbar of Maharashtra will benefit. Around 1,218 villages of Andhra Pradesh will be connected to Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and YSR districts. Most of these districts also have significant tribal population.
As per the DoT estimates, as of August 2021, 5,72,551 of the population of 5,97,618 census villages in the country, including tribal and LWE affected areas, have mobile network coverage, while 25,067 inhabited villages do not have mobile network coverage. coverage.
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