The State Government of Goa cleared the telecommunication infrastructure policy on Wednesday. The Government will adopt a single-window clearance for establishing mobile towers across the state. Pramod Sawant, the Chief Minister of Goa said that the Goa Telecommunication Infrastructure Policy 2020 has been approved at the time of state cabinet meeting organized on 12th August 2020.
A single-window permit system has been approved by the State Government in which the public works department will give consent to firms for establishing mobile towers, said the Chief Minister of the state. He further added that the firms must pay an amount of Rs. 50000 as a one-time license fee to the local administering organizations. There is no additional consent required from the concerned authorities.
Goa CM Pramod Sawant said, ‘There were 250 applications for mobile towers pending. We will club two to three operators on a single tower.’ If any company decides to install a tower on private property, it needs a NOC from the landowner prior to enrolling for permission, said the CM. He also said that the policy will assist address problems of internet connectivity particularly in the rural locations of the state.
He also said, ‘There has been a lot of hues and cry over connectivity issue, especially considering the E-education system during the current pandemic. We have been receiving complaints and also media reports about how students are facing hardships in online classes in the absence of a network. The policy will help to resolve this issue to a large extent.’
He said that different telecom operators in the state are currently ready to run their network on a single tower. The CM clarified that no extra infrastructure will be provided by the Government for setting up the optical fibers. Stay tuned to TelecomWire to get more updates about the latest changes in the telecommunications sector.