RIGHT
OF WAY (ROW) POLICY
FOR LAYING OF COMMUNICATION BACKBONE
IN HARYANA
1.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) POLICY 2000 AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATION BACKBONE
INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE STATE.
The
State Government recognizes the role of Information Technology as an effective
tool in catalyzing economic activity, providing good governance, improving
the State economy, enhancing the quality of life and ensuring development
with equity. Accordingly the Government of Haryana has recently announced
its comprehensive information technology policy, for an all-round transformation
of the State’s economy. The policy, further seeks to facilitate private
domain initiative in e-transition of Haryana by providing critical infrastructure,
system framework and enabling environment. The policy also encourages distance
education through use of information technology tools, information technology-enabled
services for providing large-scale employment and also to take Internet to
the villages at the earliest to spur economic growth in rural areas and to
ensure that the benefits of technology percolate down to the masses.
2.
NEED FOR ROBUST COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE STATE TO PERCOLATE BENEFITS
TO THE MASSES.
In order
to achieve the above objectives the “State Information Technology Policy”
stresses the need of availability of a robust telecommunication infrastructure
with adequate bandwidth across the length and breadth of the State. At present
the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Ministry of Communication and Information
Technology, Department of Telecommunication, Govt. of India is the predominant
agency operating throughout the State. It is felt that the efforts of the
BSNL new to be supplemented to create enough bandwidth and make it available
at affordable rates. Hence, the Government has been contemplating to leverage
private sector initiatives in providing widespread, high-speed broadband communication
infrastructure speedily.
A number of companies
have come forward to lay optic fibre network in the State using state of the
art technology to promote not only the growth of Information Technology industry
but also to effectively utilize Information Technology tools which would radically
improve the quality of services and life of the citizens of the State.
3. NEED FOR A
SINGLE WINDOW CLEARANCE FOR LAYING COMMUNICATION BACKBONE
The globally
accepted method of creating communication infrastructure is through laying
optic fibre as the backbone. Typically, the optic fibre has to be laid either
under ground or on T&D Network of power utilities. The underground communication
infrastructure i.e. optic fibre etc. is laid along the roads like the National
Highways, State Highways and other road networks and lands belonging to the
State Government Departments viz. Public Works Department (Buildings and Roads),
Forests, Irrigation, Revenue, Agriculture etc. and local bodies/authorities
like Panchayat, Municipal Corporations, Municipalities, Urban Development
Authorities and the like. Any registered Infrastructure Provider or authorized
licensee of Department of Telecommunications, Govt. of India (herein after
called “Applicant) intending to lay the optic fibre is required to take
clearances from the authorities in these departments. In the absence of general
guidelines, the clearance of proposals may get delayed. Keeping this in view,
the State Government has decided to frame a policy and to issue guidelines
for issuing permissions to the Applicant desirous of laying optic fibre in
the State. This policy covers only laying of under ground communication infrastructure
in the State of Haryana on the land belonging to any agency, including National
Highways (NH).
4.
RIGHT OF WAY (RoW) PERMISSION ON NON-EXCLUSIVE BASIS
Free Right of
Way shall be provided to any Applicant (irrespective of existing or future)
on Non-Exclusive Basis. The period of validity of Right of Way permission
shall be co-terminus with the validity of license or registration with the
Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communication & I.T., Government of
India, as the case may be.
However,
if the Applicant is not granted license / not registered as Infrastructure
Provider (as the case may be), the State Government may, subject to its satisfaction
that the Applicant has taken or is taking reasonable steps to obtain license
or registration, grant letter of intent (LoI) with the condition that the
Applicant shall obtain the required license/get the required necessary registration
with the Department of Telecom, (as the case may be) within 90 days of the
issue of the LoI and further any work undertaken by the Applicant shall be
at its own risk and cost. This is further subject to the Department of Telecom
regulations, other laws, rules etc. applicable in this regard.
4.1
EACH APPLCANT SHALL COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:
Each Applicant
shall have to provide connectivity in the entire State of Haryana in accordance
with the roll out conditions prescribed by Department of Telecommunication
or any other competent authority as per Basic Service License for Haryana
Circle.
4.1.1
Connectivity up to last mile linkage
4.1.2
Free Bandwidth to the State
Each
Applicant shall provide or arrange to provide free bandwidth for the usage
of the State Government, its Departments, Boards, Corporations and agencies
etc. The free bandwidth shall be 8 Mega bits per second (MBPS) at State Head
Quarter with 8 nodes, 4 Mega bits per second at each District Head Quarter
with 6 nodes, 2 Mega bits per second at each Sub Division/ Tehsil/ Block with
2 nodes at each of remaining Short Distance Charging Areas (S.D.C.A) for Haryana
Telecom Circle. For the remaining areas, which are not covered above, the
free bandwidth shall be 2 Mega bits per second with 2 nodes at each of the
other Sub Division/ Tehsil/ Block in Haryana and a reliable connectivity in
case of a village where the applicant rolls out. Applicant shall further provide
nodes at the location to be specified by the State Government.
The
free bandwidth shall be 4 MBPS between the State Headquarter and each of the
District Headquarters and 2 MBPS between a District Headquarter and each of
the SDCA’s and other Blocks / Tehsils / Sub-Divisions where the Applicant
rolls out within that district.
