NEW DELHI: The telecom department(DoT) is considering giving viability gap funding (VGF) for the BharatNet project to encourage private sector participation, especially in providing last mile connectivity, and is likely to move a Cabinet note within a fortnight to seek approval.A senior DoT official said the government is planning to take the VGF step such that the project can be sped up and can meet the deadline of December 2018 to connect all 250,000 gram panchayats with high-speed internet."Within a month, the target is to light up 500-1,000 villages every day with GPON equipment and for the second phase, we might change the process a little bit - involve private as well as state-run telecom service providers to offer services in the last mile connectivity," the official said, asking not to be named."We are willing to give viability gap funding for this, we will take this to the Cabinet in a couple of weeks’ time," the official said, adding some private telecom players had been consulted with and had shown interest in maintaining the last mile infrastructure. The project has moved slowly since inception in 2012.The cost has also swelled by almost 70 per cent from the initial approved Rs 20,100 crore, with a panel recommending Rs 72,000 crore overall spend, besides the inclusion of private players."We have understood the pain points and have figured out solutions, we are monitoring the project on a daily basis," the official said. Talking about the reasons for the delay, the official pointed to many complications, including cases where vendor testing failed twice."In many places when BSNL ( Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd ) went to give connectivity, they found that the fibre they had laid was non-operational or even missing. The new fibre had to be put, which meant far more time and manpower was used than needed," the official said.