Govt issues rules to make entities pay for causing damage to telecom infra

The government has notified new rules to make entities pay for damages that they may cause by digging or excavating to telecom infrastructure like optical fibre network and mobile towers, according to an official statement issued on Friday.

According to official estimates, due to digging or excavation activities undertaken by various entities, there are nearly 10 lakh optical fibre cuts (OFC) every year that cause an economic loss of approximately Rs 3,000 crore per annum.

The Department of Telecom expects that the Indian Telegraph (Infrastructure Safety) Rules 2022 was notified on January 3 will be able to curb damages caused to the telecom infrastructure and inconvenience caused to citizens because of frequent breakdown of communication services.

"Many utilities can be saved from unwanted cuts and wasteful costs towards restoration, thus saving thousands of crores for businesses and associated tax loss to the government," the statement said.

The rule mandates that any person or .