The clearance of Right of Way applications is essential for installing the infrastructure required for 5G services
The central government has highlighted the large number of pending 'Right of Way' applications across several states in a review meeting held with states earlier this month. The clearance of Right of Way (RoW) is essential for installing the infrastructure required for 5G services.
The delay in clearing the applications is largely seen in opposition-ruled states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Bihar, according to data shared by telecom department.
Applications that have been pending for longer than three months is also witnessed in Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal, AAP-ruled Delhi and Tripura where BJP is in power.
In Tamil Nadu's case, 18,200 RoW applications were found pending as of December 5. Out of these, almost 4,900 applications have been undecided for more than three months, according to data from the Centre-State collaborative portal GatiShakti.
It was also highlighted that Tamil Nadu's policies are not yet aligned to the required RoW format. Additionally, the state is yet to enable the GIS mapping of its street furniture and implement the payment gateway for RoW fee submission.
In terms of number of pending applications, the CPI(M)-ruled Kerala comes next to Tamil Nadu with 2,724 undecided RoW applications.
In Aravind Kejriwal-led Delhi, 227 of the 351 pending applications have remained undecided for more than 90 days. Even the BJP-ruled Tripura has 28 RoW applications that have been pending for over three months.
Notably, there are no pending applications older than three months in the Congress-led states of Chhatisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh.