Assam CM urges Centre for legislative changes to offer telecom services to 4,000 'forest villages'

Guwahati, Feb 25 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday urged the Centre to bring in required legislative changes for offering telecom services to over 4,000 "forest villages" in the state.

Addressing a session at the 'Advantage Assam' summit in the presence of Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Sarma also requested the Centre to provide better data connectivity in order to offer reliable service to the BPOs likely to invest in Assam in the future.

"Assam has 4,000 forest villages, but these are deprived of mobile services due to existing restrictions. I request the Union minister that if the Centre brings in a law to provide mobile connectivity to forest villages, they will also be digitally connected," the CM said.

He said this is a major connectivity issue in the entire Northeast as a large number of villages in the region are classified as "forest villages" or villages situated in forests.

In the era of digital transmission, connectivity is the lifeline of progress and Assam is steadfast in leading this revolution to achieve fast-paced growth of the state, Sarma said.

Speaking on the ever-increasing need for data, the CM, while referring to the announcement of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani of setting up an AI-enabled data centre in Assam and a similar facility by HDFC, said that there will be a requirement for high-speed data.

He said that as the BPOs are shifting their bases from tier-I cities to tier-II and tier-III cities, in the coming two-three years, cities such as Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Jorhat will have several BPOs and the consequent requirement of high-speed data.

"I, therefore, request the Union minister to study the feasibility of bringing optical fibre from the Bay of Bengal through the Brahmaputra. Once materialised, it will prove to be a game-changer in getting fast and reliable data in Assam," Sarma said.

He also stated that the Assam government has an ambitious plan of connecting 25,250 villages with optical fibre and accordingly requested Scindia to render his help so that the project can be completed very soon for the benefits of farmers and rural entrepreneurs.

The CM said that with the Rs 27,000-crore semiconductor facility being given shape in Jagiroad, now Assam is becoming a hub of various opportunities.

Referring to Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran's interest in setting up a mobile manufacturing unit involving a financial outlay of Rs 30,000 crore, Sarma said the youth of Assam will get employment in the state itself without them having to go to other parts of the country to chase their aim in life. PTI TR ACD

Source: PTI