The Delhi High Court today dismissed a PIL seeking quashing of the Centre's decision to deploy 2G technology in Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam, saying it was a "policy matter".
The PIL had questioned the decision to purchase "outdated" technology at a "huge" cost and alleged it was done to benefit two companies.
"It is a policy matter of the government as to where to have 2G and 4G. The government is in a better position to decide. If the people of those two states are aggrieved, they can challenge it," a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice C Hari Shankar said and dismissed the plea by NGO Telecom Watchdog.
The petition alleged that the decision was discriminatory, without application of mind and contradictory to the central government's policy of Digital India.
Appearing for the NGO, advocate Pranav Sachdeva argued that huge amount of public money was being wasted by the deployment of outdated technology.
The plea sought quashing of a January 16, 2018 agreement between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), alleging that "outdated 2G technology is sought to be purchased at huge cost of Rs 2,258 crore from two private companies under mysterious circumstances".
The NGO has claimed that the agreement was entered into despite the fact that the DoT's Telecom Commission had in December last year decided to procure 2G-cum-4G spectrum for all future projects
According to the plea filed through Sachdeva, BSNL has completed the tender process for procuring equipment from two Delhi based-companies -- Vihaan Networks Ltd, and Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd -- for providing 2G network in Arunachal Pradesh and Karbi Anglong & Dima Hasao districts of Assam.
The PIL alleged that the decision was taken to "benefit the two private companies at the cost of exchequer, and at the cost of the users in the two states".
It claimed that purchasing 2G spectrum was very expensive and in support of its contention cited figures allegedly submitted to DoT by BSNL in November last year in a Detailed Project Report (DPR).
The petition said that in the DPR, BSNL has said it would require Rs 11,811.51 crore for setting up 4G technology at 100,000 sites across India.
"This means Rs 11.81 lakh per tower site. Compared to this, '2G-cum-4G' is Rs 2.54 crore per tower site. Thus, for 50,000 uncovered villages, 4G will cost Rs 5,905 crore and 2G-cum-4G will cost Rs 1,27,000 crore, which is a difference of Rs 1,21,095 crore," the NGO claimed while seeking quashing of the agreement or in the alternative, inclusion of 4G spectrum in it.
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