Thiruvananthapuram: In a setback to the state government's mission of providing free internet connections to BPL families through the K-FON (Kerala Fibre Optic Network) project, the contracted company has withdrawn from the agreement midway.
Initially tasked with providing connection to 14,000 BPL households two years ago, the company cited an inaccurate beneficiary list provided by the local self-government department as the reason for its withdrawal. 7,000 connections were given, added the company.
However, K-FON claimed that the corrected list had been handed over to the company months ago.
K-FON lacks data on which houses still require connection and has requested the company to provide a list of those households. While it has been announced that 2.5 lakh more BPL families will be provided with free connections soon, even the 14,000 connections announced at the beginning of the project could not be completed.
The K-FON scheme, introduced by the government with the pledge of providing free connections to 20 lakh BPL households, was amended by the second Pinarayi government. The amendment stipulated that in the first phase, 100 connections would be provided in each constituency, totalling 14,000 connections. However, delays in approving the contract with the company and compiling the beneficiary list from local bodies occurred.
Following the discovery that information concerning 6,800 beneficiaries was incorrect, the list was returned. It was corrected and resubmitted. In addition, the company was provided with a list of officials from each local self-government to contact to seek any clarification. It was after all this that the company informed K-FON and the Secretary to the Information Technology department that no more connections could be provided and that it was withdrawing from the contract. K-FON's managing director, Dr Santosh Babu, stated that the agency would independently provide 14,000 connections within five months by utilizing the services of local cable operators.
Despite the government's intention to inaugurate the project after connecting 14,000 BPL households, only 1,000 households had been provided with connections when the Chief Minister declared open the scheme last June.
