Our CM recently announced the central government’s plan to start Bharat Net internet services in Goa on a public-private partnership basis. This seems to be a good initiative looking at the internet problems all students, public and businesses are facing in Goa. India is moving very fast towards these PPP models. Few international airports have recently been taken over by Adani on such similar models. We have examples of developed countries in Europe that have tried this PPP model and due to its nature, these become unaffordable to the public. These PPP models are completely monopolised. In the UK, public trains, buses and internet services are far too expensive for some people to afford and have become like a luxury. In the PPP model, the government loses major control and thus there is a lot of chance of exploitation by increasing costs of services without looking at the affordability factor and sometimes these services benefit the rich. BSNL did offer good services in Goa in the past but recently due to major jobs and financial cuts it is struggling. During the Covid pandemic, the internet has been a major hurdle to everyone’s businesses as well as students. If our government puts in money to save the crumbling BSNL, it would go a long way to give affordable services to the people of Goa in the future. Hope our central and state government studies carefully the fallouts of the PPP model before trying these experiments which could be an expensive affair for everyone.
