The Delhi government is set to rework its scheme to provide free WiFi to citizens after it was halted in December last year due to a funds crunch. The scheme, which was one of the 70 promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the 2015 assembly elections, had initially earmarked Rs 100 crore for the project. The government successfully provided free WiFi to citizens, but the service was discontinued after the service provider’s contract expired.
The Public Works Department (PWD) had sent a proposal to the government to renew the contract, but it was not approved. As a result, the agency was directed to discontinue the work from December 16 due to non-availability of funds. However, the Delhi government has now claimed that there is no fund crunch and that the scheme is being redesigned.
Under the previous scheme, the government installed more than 11,000 WiFi hotspots across the city, particularly in areas with a heavy concentration of visitors and important government buildings. These hotspots included parks, markets, government buildings, and bus stops. Each user, identified through their mobile number, was provided with 15GB of free data every month at a speed of 200 mbps. Each hotspot could accommodate 150-200 users within a radius of 50 meters.
According to the outcome budget of 2022, around 6.6 lakh people availed the free WiFi facility, and more than 21 lakh mobile phone users had access to free internet through this service. However, due to the fund crunch, the WiFi facility was temporarily stalled.
The PWD has now started work to resume the scheme after receiving instructions from the minister. The project is currently in the initial planning stage. The government is committed to providing free WiFi to its citizens and is working to overcome the challenges posed by the fund crunch.
Let us tell you that, the Delhi government is reworking its scheme to provide citizens with free WiFi after facing a funds crunch. The previous scheme successfully provided free internet access to a significant number of people, and the government is determined to resume the service and fulfill its promise to the citizens of Delhi.
Summery:
The Delhi government is reworking its scheme to provide free WiFi to citizens after it was halted last year due to a funds crunch. The scheme was one of the promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the 2015 assembly elections and Rs 100 crore was allocated for the project. The government launched the project in 2019, installing more than 11,000 WiFi hotspots across the city. Each user was provided with 15GB of free data every month at a speed of 200 mbps. Around 6.6 lakh people availed the free WiFi facility, and more than 21 lakh mobile phone users had access to free internet. Currently, the project is in the initial and planning stage of resuming.
Image Credit : TOI
