Telecom Right of Way: States Offered ₹4,000 Crore SASCI Incentive
- Incentive: ₹4,000 crore SASCI capital pool
- Timeline: 67 days for standard clearances
- Priority track: 7 days for BharatNet
- Coverage: 35,771 villages reached via 4G
State governments can now unlock shares of a dedicated ₹4,000 crore capital incentive pool, provided municipal bodies and line departments dismantle telecom infrastructure bottlenecks and enforce statutory Right of Way timelines.
Convening state IT ministers at the India Mobile Congress 2026, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia urged regional administrations to treat digital infrastructure as shared state-federal priority. Under the Telecommunication (Right of Way) Rules 2024, standard clearances carry a mandatory 67-day deadline, compressing to just seven days for high-priority projects such as BharatNet. While all 36 states and union territories now operate on the central portal, 34 have enacted binding state orders directing local bodies to comply.
The regulatory push aligns with a sharp acceleration in rural connectivity targets. Under the Amended BharatNet Programme, project teams have laid over 55,780 kilometers of optical fibre and upgraded 28,700 Gram Panchayats, progressing toward an ultimate goal of 1.5 crore rural fibre connections. In parallel, the Digital Bharat Nidhi-funded 4G saturation project has erected 25,367 mobile towers using India's indigenous stack, bringing cellular services to 35,771 previously uncovered villages.
For network operators and tower infrastructure firms, streamlined Right of Way rules remove arbitrary local levies and costly deployment delays. Beyond physical rollout, the Centre pressed state administrations to synchronize local law enforcement with the Sanchar Saathi fraud-prevention platform, ensuring rapid network expansion proceeds alongside robust subscriber security.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the statutory clearance timelines under the Telecommunication Right of Way Rules 2024?
Standard telecom infrastructure applications must be cleared within 67 days, while designated priority works like BharatNet require approvals within seven days.
What funding incentive supports state Right of Way compliance?
The Centre has earmarked ₹4,000 crore under the Special Assistance for Capital Investment (SASCI) Scheme 2026–27 for states implementing RoW reforms.
What is the current progress of the Amended BharatNet Programme?
As of August 2026, authorities have laid 55,780 kilometers of optical fibre and upgraded 28,700 Gram Panchayats toward a target of 1.5 crore connections.
How many villages have received mobile access under the 4G Saturation Project?
Using an indigenous 4G technology stack, the project has commissioned 25,367 towers covering 35,771 remote villages through the Digital Bharat Nidhi.
Source
Press Information Bureau Release No. 2320855, Ministry of Communications (Release ID: 2320855) · 2026-10-08
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