http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31818&articlexml=CONTROL-OF-DOORDARSHAN-Prasar-Bharti-Hits-Out-at-01062015003012
Jun 01 2015 : The Economic Times (Mumbai) CONTROL OF DOORDARSHAN - Prasar Bharti Hits Out at I&B Ministry Vasudha Venugopal New Delhi A long-running turf war between Prasar Bharti and the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has found its latest flash point over the launch of DD Kisan. Prasar Bharti CEO Jawhar Sircar has written a letter to Prasar Bharti Chairperson A Surya Prakash expressing "anguish" at the MIB's "crossinstructions to DD Kisan team for the launch ceremony" of a channel supposed to be run by his organisation. In his letter, he has also alleged that despite assurances, ministry's interference has increased in recent months. Sircar confirmed to ET that he had written the letter. "It was getting confusing in the last minute as to who was running the show. This two-command line is not good for any organisation. I wanted to be clear on that," Sircar said. A top I&B ministry official, while confirming the ministry was aware of the letter, said they were forced to step in after the "lack of interest" shown by Prasar Bharti in such a prestigious project. The official told ET that they had intervened in the process only to make sure the event where the PM was the chief guest went off smoothly . "The ministry had given Prasar Bharti Rs 100 crore to start work on the channel as soon as the PM announced it almost a year ago but they gave us back Rs 75 crore citing excuses.There was absolutely no work done till December. It was only after a push from the ministry that things started rolling," said the official who asked not to be named since he is not authorised to talk to media. Sircar was conspicuous by his absence at the dais during the launch function of DD Kisan that took place on May 26 - marking the BJP government's first anniversary - although the government-appointed chairperson Surya Prakash was present. Sircar wrote the letter the same day after the event. "The real reason behind his outburst is a government plan to audit the salary of the 30,000-plus Prasar Bharti staff and set the place in order," claimed the I&B ministry official. "There cannot be autonomy without responsibility . The I&B ministry gets Rs 2,300 crore every year, of which 60% goes to Prasar Bharti. This too has been increased substantially by the new government.Despite that, they have not been able to increase viewership or revenue. To hide their own inefficiency they play the victim and get away ," he said. Last Friday, the government also appointed Veena Jain, DG (News) All India Radio, as the Director General (News) of Doordarshan with additional charge as officer on special duty in the MIB for social media. The move invited allegations that it was tantamount to the DD News head reporting to I&B Ministry instead of Prasar Bharti CEO. Minister of state for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore rubbished allegations of interference. "If the government wanted to wield more power on the public broadcaster it doesn't have to use tricks.When a person becomes a DG, one of the options is for the person to head a media unit. We have an active presence on social media and there are future plans too. So it is only natural to appoint someone to take care of both news and social media so that there is better synchronisation ," he told ET. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
