Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has directed collectors of 23 districts to facilitate the availability of government land for the installation of 707 new 4G mobile towers under the Centre’s Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) programme, an official statement said Thursday.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Information Technology and Electronics Department Vishal Dev has written to the collectors of Angul, Bolangir, Balasore, Bargarh, Bhadrak, Boudh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Koraput, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Puri, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Sundargarh districts in this regard.
In the letter, Dev requested the collectors to issue no-objection certificates (NOCs) for advance possession of government land at the identified locations to enable the installation of 4G mobile towers by BSNL.
“In order to facilitate the early installation and commissioning of 4G mobile towers at the identified locations, it is requested that NOCs for advance possession of approximately 2,000 square feet of government land at each site may be issued in favour of BSNL to enable commencement of the tower installation works,” he said.
According to the statement, NOCs have already been issued for 294 sites and work has commenced at those locations.
Emphasising the importance of timely completion of the project, Dev instructed the collectors to issue necessary directions to field-level officials to make the requisite land available and facilitate early execution of the works.
The project is aimed at enhancing digital connectivity in underserved and remote areas of the state, the statement added.
