DDK Srinagar in-house scam-II

 Shami, others at DDK concealed proposal registers

Station Directors, Producers violated all rules and norms in Rs 64 cr ‘in-house productions scam’; mentioned relatives as ‘facility providers’ of their own programmes

“The producers at the Kendra have a pretty long stay at DDK Srinagar itself and it appears that they have taken everything for granted and are nurturing their vested interests at the cost of the organization with impunity. It is, therefore, suggested that the Producers may be transferred out of the Kendra periodically”, says the DD team’s report submitted to DG Tripurari Sharan

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 1: The two-member fact finding team from Directorate General of Doordarshan, comprising Deputy Director Administration, Ashok Kumar, and Section Officer, Nadeem Ahmad, has observed in its eight-day-long investigation in Srinagar that two successive Heads of Programme (HOP) and incharge Directors of Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) Srinagar, in league with their subordinate Programme Officers, have violated all rules and norms in accomplishing Rs 64 crore “in-house productions scam.

In the report submitted to DG Doordarshan, a copy of which is available with Early Times, the two-member team has recorded that many of the DDK Srinagar Producers concealed records and did not provide proposal registers of the ‘in-house’ programmes they claim to have produced and telecast. Still, contracts have been found lying with the Accounts Section.

It has been noticed by the DD team that one particular serial, titled ‘Mizraab’, figures at serial numbers 41 and 57 separately in a list previously submitted to DD headquarters. At both places, Producer Rashid Javed claims payment of Rs 300,000. DDK Srinagar officers have demanded an amount of Rs 3.45 crore [Rs 3,45,55,362] to clear the liability of 59 serials and musical series in the same list.

However, during the process of verification, Deputy Director and Head of Programmes, Shami Shair, who functioned as incharge Head of Programmes from July 2011 to September 2012, did not produce records of a documentary film and another programme series, titled ‘Zu Chhu te Jahan Chhu”. Contracts drawn and processed by her claimed payment of Rs 2,88,000 for the documentary and Rs 8,52,000 for the programme series. For a long time, she has functioned as Programme Officer of this series and her predecessor HOP, Dr Rafeeq Masoodi, has purportedly approved each episode of the series till he was relieved by Mrs Shair in July 2011.

“Concerned file and Proposal Register not produced to verify the actual approved cost”, says the Remarks column of Mrs Shair’s programmes.

The reason of concealing the records, according to insiders, was that most of the payees of Mrs Shair’s programmes are her relatives and family members, including a domestic help. According to the contracts and Detail Forms, signed by Mrs Shair herself, the “facility providers” of her programme series “Zu Chhu Te Jahan Chhu” include her sister Neelofar, niece Naila Neelofar, nephew Aabid Ali, his wife Surraya and other relatives.

Her other payees are Waseem Hassan, Arshad Meraj, Naseema, Pervez Ahmad, Tufail Qadiri, Abdul Rehman Sheikh, Gulzar Ahmad Dar (son of a retired DD official engaged by her to look after her production and contract works), Azma Zahoor, Firdaus Ahmad Khan, Massarat Riyaz, Suhail Ahmad Bhat, Shaista Ahad, Arif Hussain Zargar, Manzoor Ahmad Khan, Shehbaz Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Rishi, Idrees Ahmad and Suleman Gujar. Their relation to her, if any, is being verified. Private Studio M/S Ravi Mech is claimed to have been engaged despite availability of DDK Srinagar’s own studios and other hardware.

In gross violation of norms and codes, she has herself proposed in-house programmes as Producer and approved the same programmes as Head of Programmes. Local private producers have complained it to the highest circles in DD and Prasar Bharti but no action has ever been initiated to stop this practice.

However, Mrs Shair is not the only officer who has avoided submitting proposal registers to the DD team. Programme Officer Rajiv Sadhu, who enjoys the dubious distinction of having created the highest liability (Rs 7.36 crore) among all DDK Srinagar officials, has concealed proposal register of his series “Loli Aalav” which claims payment of Rs 1,85,710. The report says that Mr Sadhu also did not provide proposal register of another series “Kashur Meeras” claiming payment of Rs 4,60,000.

Programme Officer Javed Bukhari, who has created liability of Rs 3.64 crore, has refused to provide proposal register of his series “Chandanhar” claiming payment of Rs 1,09,000, series “Zamanik Rang” claiming payment of Rs 1,86,000, series “Kehkashaan” claiming payment of Rs 1,67,500 and series “Sitaray Jammu Kay” claiming payment of Rs 7,80,000.

Programme Officer Haleema Parveen has declined to submit proposal register of her series “Milchaar” claiming payment of Rs 4,03,000. Programme Officer Satish Dhar has not provided for verification proposal registers of his series “Afsana” claiming payment of Rs 900,000, series “Saaz Te Aawaz” claiming Rs 9,50,000 and serial “Yaqeen” which claims payment of Rs 20,61,022.

The DD team from New Delhi has recommended that payment to all these programmes, amounting to Rs 81,22,232, should not be made at this stage.

The team has pointed out that submission and approval of the so-called in-house programmes, as also fixing the number of episodes, approval of budget, schedule of telecast and releasing payments has been entirely subject to the “volition” of the Director DDK/HOP. Officials have violated all rules, norms and DD codes and procedures in this whole business. Favoutism and nepotism has been found as a key feature.

Says the report: “It was noticed by the team that the criteria adopted for approving the number of episodes was not scientific. The basic question as to why the programme should be earmarked such and such number of episodes with a view to make it interesting for the viewers are not critically analyzed beforehand. It is only the discretion of the Director/HoP which rules the roost. The Director / HoP approved the number of episodes on his own volition, which varies from case to case basis even in respect of similar nature of programmes. It was observed that about 100 episodes were approved by the Director in one stretch in some cases whereas in other cases of similar nature, the number of episodes approved was about 13 or even less.   As such, the element of nepotism and favouritism in allocating the number of episodes to a particular producer cannot be ruled out”.

It adds: “It is seen that pick and choose method was adopted in taking a decision which programme would be telecast when. Lack of uniformity in approach is glaringly visible, as some programmes were telecast after the gap of two year or more whereas some of the programmes were got telecast on within a week after its completion or even on the same day”. [See table].

S.No.	Name of Programme	Date of submission of the tape	Date of first telecast of the programme
1.	Tote Guv Kul	22-1-2011	28-1-2011
2.	Rood Kya Baqi	28-10-2010	28-10-2010
3.	Rum Gayam Sheeshas	8-1-2011	8-1-2011
4.	Ghar Se Bollywood Tak	20-1-2011	20-1-2011
5.	Lagyo Ponso	14-11-2010	14-11-2010
6.	Face the Future	10-8-2009	8-12-2010
7.	Soz-e-Daroon	8-4-2009	12-3-2011
8.	Sangarmaal	1-2-2009	4-3-2011
9.	Kashur Meeraas	14-1-2009	4-3-2011
10.	Ratichhap	2-10-2008	7-2-2011

Favouritism: Some programmes have been telecast on the day of submission of tapes while as others have been telecast one to three years after submission of tapes

It further adds: “It was observed by the team that the Director / HOP aimlessly conceived programmes and got them prepared without a professional planning and as a result thereof the tapes of the programmes are showcasing the designated almirahs of the Kendra with the endless wait to get a chance to be telecast”.

Adds the report: “It was observed by the team that the programmes already made during the past have not yet been telecast for want of the time slots or otherwise and yet the new programmes are still being made. The cogent reasons for making new programmes without exhausting the huge pile up of the previously made programmes were asked for from the present HoP. She explained that she is producing programmes as per Fixed Point Chart with meager cost. Further details can be ascertained separately from the HoP”.

“It was noticed that uniformity of rate for hiring a similar service/logistic is not taken into account while firming up the budget of the programmes but it varies from case to case basis for the reasons to be explained by the Kendra. This gives rise to doubt about the approved cost of the programmes as conjured and arbitrary”, says the report.

It adds: “It was noticed that the payments have been made to the Resource Persons (hand-picked by the Producer of the Kendra to facilitate the programme production) without any ‘Bill’ showing expenditure actually incurred for hiring of services and logistics used during the programme production”.

While suggesting need to stop this practice forthwith, the DD team has noticed that with their long postings in Srinagar, DD officials had developed vested interest. “The producers at the Kendra have a pretty long stay at DDK Srinagar itself and it appear that they have taken everything for granted and are nurturing their vested interests at the cost of the organization with impunity. It is, therefore, suggested that the Producers may be transferred out of the Kendra periodically”, says the report.

[To be continued…..]

END