Concerned over poor telephone connectivity in remote Naxal-affected areas, the government is planning to install 2,200 mobile towers in nine Maoist-hit states by the end of this year.

Following a request by the Home Ministry, the Department of Telecommunication has roped in the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to carry out the ambitious project to strengthen the mobile telephone network by setting up the towers in remote inaccessible areas where Maoists have a strong presence.

Official sources said, the towers will be set up in consultations with the state governments near establishments of security forces, police stations or other secured locations as the Naxals have often been targeting such towers in the past.

The proposal will be submitted before the Union Cabinet soon and once it gets approval, work will start immediately.

They said, the states that will benefit from the project include Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal and Maharashtra.