Attorney General of India has reportedly allowed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to prescribe principles under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 for granting Right of Way (RoW) by state governments and local bodies and for levy of charges for the establishment of telecom infrastructure. This move comes after DoT sought AG’s opinion on the matter as it involves state-centre jurisdiction. DoT’s new principles will be aimed at facilitating roll out of infrastructure under the Digital India initiative.

Presently, the Centre issues advisories to state governments to facilitate rational imposition of charges and delineate procedures. The last such advisory was issued by the telecom department in April 2013 but procedures still remain onerous at state level.

The RoW charges vary from Rs 100,000 to Rs 15 million per km across the municipal bodies in the country. Issues have arisen as some states impose high charges for laying of fibre and even impose taxing preconditions that telecom service providers often find difficult to meet. States such as Gujarat and Kerala levy annual rental charges in addition to one time charges for fibre infrastructure laid by telecom service providers under public roads.

An expert committee on National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) that recently submitted its review report to the Ministry of Communications and IT has stated that for RoW, an upfront payment must be made to agencies such as the National Highways Authority of India, oil companies etc, so the balance can be adjusted as approvals come through. It has also suggested that state governments sign agreements with the agencies to formulate a common procedure for RoW approvals.