Parliament Question: BharatNet Scheme in Chitradurga District

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3181 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11TH MARCH, 2026 BHARATNET SCHEME IN CHITRADURGA DISTRICT 3181. SHRI GOVIND MAKTHAPPA KARJOL: Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state: (a) the details of the total number of Gram Panchayats in Chitradurga District targeted under BharatNet Scheme and the number of GPs made service-ready as on date; (b) the details of the total funds allocated, released and utilized for BharatNet project implementation in Chitradurga District during the last five years; (c) the details of utilization of BharatNet bandwidth by Government institutions such as schools, Primary Health Centres, Anganwadis and Common Service Centres (CSCs) in the district; (d) the details of delays, if any, in execution of Bharat Net works in the district and the reasons therefor including issues relating to Right of Way (RoW), contractor performance, technical constraints or fund allocation; and (e) the steps taken to upgrade existing infrastructure in the district to provide higher bandwidth and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity under PPP model and last-mile connectivity and improve digital inclusion in rural and remote areas of Chitradurga District? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR) (a) to (d) In Chitradurga District, all 190 GPs planned under BharatNet Phase-I, have been made service ready. A total of Rs. 635.89 crore have been allocated and utilised during last five financial years (2020-21 to 2024-25) under BharatNet Project for all the districts of Karnataka including Chitradurga District. As on 28.02.2026, 284 FTTH connections using BharatNet with minimum speed of 25 Mbps per connection are working in Government Institutions, including schools & primary health centers, in Chitradurga District of Karnataka. (e) BharatNet project is implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages beyond GPs on demand basis across the country, including rural and remote areas of Chitradurga District in Karnataka. Under Amended BharatNet program, following steps have been included to provide high speed broadband connectivity for improved digital inclusion in rural and remote areas: (i) Creation and Upgradation of BharatNet network in ring architecture (ii) Operation & Maintenance for 10 years (iii) Dedicated Network Operation Centre (iv) Provisioning of 1.5 crore FTTH connections using BharatNet Udyamis (BNUs) ***** 1