NEW DELHI: The newly constituted Group of Ministers on Prasar Bharati is to consider the demand by section of employees for repeal of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act 1990.
The National Federation of Akashvani and Doordarshan Employees (NFADE) which claims to represent 21 service associations of the pubcaster employees has been agitating for a return to the pre-Prasar Bharati scenario.
This was stated by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting C M Jatua in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
The NFADE has said that experience over the last twelve years since the Act was brought into force in 1997 has proved that Prasar Bharati is not financially viable and has not been able to achieve the concept with which it was set up.
The Federation has also said that the decision to treat employees in service as on 5 October 2007 as deemed government employees will create different cadres.
To press for their demand, NFADE which claims to represent about 38,000 employees commenced the sixth phase of its agitation in February this year.
In a memorandum to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, the NFADE said the aim of the agitation was to retain the National and Public Service Broadcaster with the Government.
The memorandum said the decision of 26 September 2008 relating to treating employees working as on 5 October 2007 as on deputation from the government and entitled to all benefits applicable to civil servants would create different cadres which would not be healthy for the organization. It is pointed out that former Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi had promised to bring all employees into the ambit of the government, but this had not been done by the Group of Ministers. Section 11 of the Prasar Bharati Act 1990 is clear that an option would be given to the employees to opt to remain with the broadcaster or go back to the Government.
It was pointed out in the memorandum that there are 454 TV channels including 248 Radio channels (with another 320 waiting for license) in the private network and the public has many options.
The NFADE has said AIR and Doordarshan are unique organizations endowed with the dual role of National as well as Public Service Broadcasters and thereby it is the responsibility of the Government as well as the democracy of this country to ensure their existence. But �Members of the Prasar Bharati Board are least bothered about the divine role of this august organization and they are busy with infighting amongst themselves, thereby created a complete chaos in the organization for the last six to eight months. The tug of war between members of the Prasar Bharati Board has reached such a level that it is affecting the day-to-day functioning of AIR and DD.'
Anilkumar told radioandmusic.com that faced with a large number of private broadcasters, the country needs a national broadcaster under the government and not an autonomous public broadcaster, particular since any public broadcaster cannot survive without the support of the government.
The Act was passed by Parliament in 1990, but notified only from September 1997 after the Supreme Court in February 1995 ruled that airwaves were public property and could not be monopolised
The judgment as a result of a petition by the Cricket Association of Bengal against the public broadcaster came at a time when Doordarshan and All India Radio were the most dominant broadcasters in the country.
The Supreme Court had directed the Government and Prasar Bharati to take a decision about the fate of the 40,000-odd employees by August 2007 but later allowed more time till October. Following the order of the apex Court, a Committee of Officers had been set up to go into the issue, and has since presented its report to the Group of Ministers attached to Prasar Bharati.