SHILLONG:
The Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) has asked the state government to nominate BSNL for implementation of the AIS:140-based vehicle tracking project in Meghalaya.
After handing over a memorandum to Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, FKJGP president Dundee C Khonsit said, “(We) strongly suggest that BSNL through its local establishment at Shillong should be nominated by the Govt of Meghalaya for implementation of their Vahan Suraksha state backend AIS:140 project.”
He said the federation has received information that the Centre has mandated the setting up of the state command control backend system in each state and allocated a fund for the same to each state under the Nirbhaya fund framework scheme.
Meghalaya has been allocated a fund of Rs 10.4 crore for setting up of the state command control backend system and meeting the expenses of running it for 2 years.
He said the project is highly critical in nature as it is for the safety of people and vehicles travelling in the state and is a unique project as it will provide safety to the women in particular and will help in catching hold of culprits and law-breakers.
In case of any accident or harassment with any passenger particularly women, the panic button will alert the nearest police station, emergency or law enforcement agency to provide immediate assistance. The project will give direct control of the location of the law breakers to the Police as well as the transport department and Ministry of Home and will go a long way in reducing the crimes in the State.
For the reasons above, the project should be implemented by an agency who has local presence in the state and has experience and capabilities to implement the same in a better effective and efficient manner.
The project requires district level and state level execution and it must be executed by a PSU/Government entity having presence in the districts as well as state level and having network coverage and support facilities in the state.
Stating that the Centre had mandated the utilisation of services of BSNL by all departments, Khongsit said the BSNL being a central govt PSU is one of the largest national telecom service providers and is already providing services to Meghalaya.
It has statewide presence, network and coverage in the state with support and presence even at the village level. It has state telecom circle in Meghalaya located at the capital of the State BSNL has already setup 4G towers across the State and is covering every nook and corner of the State including remote and rural areas
Further, BSNL has been recognised by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways for integration with VAHAN database for activation, registration, health check, alert updates, etc. as required for the implementation of the project.
“Being locally, BSNL will be executing the project through local telecom circle and it will help in retaining the entire funds, GST and revenue to be earned from the implementation of the project within the State, which can be utilized in the development of the State & for the benefit of its citizens,” he said.
According to him, this will also give a boost to local employment.