Public entities to automatically grant nod to lay optical fibre

Public entities will now automatically grant permissions for laying optical fibre in rural areas under the BharatNet Project after the central government designated it as a “special project” in “public interest” under the Telecommunications Rules, 2024, effective January 1. Public entities to automatically grant nod to lay optical fibre “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule of rule 12 of the Telecommunications Rules, 2024, the Central Government, in public interest, hereby notifies the ‘BharatNet’, as a special project for the establishment of telecommunication network,” states the gazette notification issued on January 1. Under Rule 12 of the RoW Rules notified in September, the central government can designate projects as “special projects” in “public interest”. The UPA-II government established BharatNet as the National Optical Fibre Network in October 2011, initially aiming to connect 250,000 gram panchayats within two years.