Himachal Pradesh HC directs service providers for implementation of suggestions provided by HP Telecom Department for better internet connectivity within State

Read Judgment: Ms. Vandana Misra v. The Chief Engineer, PWD, Director Town

Pankaj Bajpai

Shimla, January 1, 2022: The Himachal Pradesh High Court has recently directed all the service providers in the State of Himachal Pradesh to respond to suggestions for ensuring coverage of mobile network in shadow/rural areas, alongwith facts and figures and steps taken in this regard. 

While listing the matter on January 5, 2022, a Division Bench of Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Chander Bhusan Barowalia therefore directed that the state level coordination committee meeting should be held regularly and that too on monthly basis, so that recommendations and observations of the committee can be effectively implemented.

The observation came pursuant to a petition filed as Pro bono Publico by Vandana Mishra (Petitioner) highlighting the plight of the residents of the State, more particularly, the residents of the rural and backward areas of the State in the matters regarding internet services. 

The High Court noted that the Government of India had formulated a new telecom policy in the year 1994 which aimed at giving highest priority to the development of telecom services in the country in conformity and in furtherance of Government of India’s Economic Policy.

Thereafter, various guidelines for streamlining the provisions of right of way to telecom service licensees and also to the infrastructure providers were laid down, which were formulated, keeping in view the object of creating a robust telecommunication infrastructure with adequate bandwidth at affordable rates and in order to promote Development and Proliferation of Information Technology, Electronic Governance, ECommerce, convergence of information, Communication and Entertainment sectors so as to improve the state of economy, enhance the quality of life of the citizens and to ensure development of urban and rural areas with equity throughout the country, added the Court. 

The Division Bench noted various suggestions put forth by the Deputy Director General (Rural) HP, LSA Department of Telecom Shimla, and therefore issued directions as mentioned below, calling for immediate attention: 

1. The Chief Engineer, HPPWD is directed to convene a meeting of the representatives of the Town and Country Planning, Information Technology, Rural Development, Urban Development and Municipal Corporation, Shimla, to look into the feasibility of replacing the condition of submission of Building Completion Certificate with Structure Suitability Certificate alone or in alternate, making a provision for granting the completion certificates floor-wise for ensuring the structure suitability. 

2. It is directed that implementation of clause for construction of common ducts in bids/ tender documents should be made mandatory while construction/widening of roads. Thus, the utilization of common ducts will enable faster roll out of telecom infra and at the same time inconvenience to the general public towards digging of roads can be avoided.

3. It is further directed that there should be no RoW charges or the same should be at a far lesser rate than the one being currently charged.

4. Since at present no code has been incorporated to accommodate fiber in modern housing complexes and societies which results in slowing down rolling of telecom infrastructure, the suggestions are called from the State over the same. 

5. It is ordered to consider the suggestion for penalty clause on fibre cut in all tendered documents/bids by various departments of the State to minimize and restore the service swiftly.