I&B, Prasar Bharti, DD top brass visiting Srinagar next week

DDPs of DD not promoted, only ‘stop gap arrangement’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 29: Top brass of the union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B), Prasar Bharti Broadcasting Corporation of India (PB), Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) is arriving in Srinagar next week to inaugurate a higher caliber transmitter for FM radio as also to conduct a an exhaustive review of the functioning of the Jammu and Kashmir stations of DD and AIR.

Informed sources in New Delhi told Early Times that AIR’s FM transmission would be remarkably augmented in Kashmir from next week with the inauguration of a new 10 kw higher transmitter on Saturday. High level teams would be flying to Srinagar on October 4^th and 5^th with the twin agenda of reviewing the functioning of DD and AIR stations in Srinagar, Jammu and Ladakh and inauguration of the newly installed FM-2 transmitter.

Sources said that that operation of the new FM transmitter would remarkably improve transmission quality of the programmes of Commercial Broadcasting Service (CBS) and several programmes of MW-1 and MW-2 which would be relayed through it from next week. Sources said that CBS would continue on its existing FM-1 transmitter that has capacity of 10 kw. Effective footprint area of FM-2 would be a radius of 72 Kms in and around Srinagar. It was designed for a brand new service but due to paucity of staff, it is being used only for fresh programmes for two hours a day. For rest of the day, it would relay CBS, Yuva Vani, MW-1, MW-2 and FM-Gold programmes.

Parliament Members in Consultative Committee of I&B Ministry are also scheduled to arrive in Srinagar on October 4^th to hold a review meeting for two days. Sources said that on October 5^th, media heads would extensively deliberate on “paid news” and DAVP operations in a high level meeting in Srinagar. Next day, Minister I&B, CEO PB and others would hold a meeting and inaugurate the FM-2 service.

Minister of I&B, Ambika Soni, Secretary I&B, Arun Kumar, two Joint Secretary of the I&B Ministry, CEO of PB, Jawahar Sircar, Director General of DD, Tripurari Sharan, DG of AIR, S.D. Mandloi, besides Engineer-in-Chief of AIR and Principal DG of Press Information Bureau (PIB), Neelam Kapoor, would be among members of the team. Sources said that the team would arrive in Srinagar on October 5^th and conduct an extensive review of the functioning of DD, AIR, PIB, DAVP and other organs of I&B Ministry and Prasar Bharti.

On October 6^th, Mrs Ambika Soni would inaugurate the new FM transmitter on premises of Radio Kashmir Srinagar. Previously, the team was scheduled to visit Srinagar on September 28^th but the programme was postponed due to presence on President, Pranab Mukherjee, in connection with 18^th annual convocation of University of Kashmir around the same time.

Sources said that Mrs Soni and her team would take certain measures not only to improve transmission and services of DD and AIR stations in the sensitive border state but also to refurbish image of the Central government’s media institutions which have suffered a credibility crisis due to the conduct of some officers and flagrant corruption witnessed at DDK Srinagar and DD Kashir in the last four or five years.

Show-cause notice to 19 DD officials

Just two of the Heads of Programme and incharge Directors of DDK Srinagar, namely Dr Rafeeq Masoodi and Shami Shair, have created huge liability of over Rs 60 Crore in excess of normal PPPS budget in the last three financial years. However, both have been removed and shifted to DD headquarters in New Delhi. Masoodi has been lately placed under suspension.

With availability of total time slots of 3 hours a day, DDK Srinagar was supposed to approve/produce/telecast maximum of six programmes a day, or 2,000 episodes a year. A two-member team from DD headquarters has observed during its scrutiny of records in Srinagar from September 5^th to September 13^th that 2008-09 has been a no-excess year as the station has approved/ produced total of 1870 episodes of programmes. Liability accrued thereto has been Rs 7.21 Crore.

However, with his becoming Director of DDK Srinagar, Dr Masoodi has approved/ produced 4410 episodes in 2009-10, creating liability of Rs 17.00 Crores. In the year 2010-11, he has crossed all limits of approving and producing programmes, mostly in the scandalous “in-house” category. The team has calculated that as many as 9689 episodes of programmes have been approved/ produced under Dr Masoodi’s orders in 2010-11, creating further liability of Rs 37.35 Crore.

In other words, as many as 14099 episodes have been approved/ produced by Dr Masoodi in 2009-10 and 2010-11, which makes it clear that 10,089 programmes have been scandalously approved in excess to the normal ceiling of 4,000 programmes. With this, cumulative liability of DDK Srinagar has touched all time highest of Rs 61.55 Crore in April 2011. Thereafter, Masoodi and Shami have further created liability of Rs 3.26 Crore despite blanket freeze of this scandalous operation by Directorate General of DD. Consequently, DDK Srinagar is now reeling under the unimaginable liability of Rs 64.81 Crore.

The team has observed that almost all these programmes have been outsourced to relatives, family members, friends and acquaintances of the two Directors of DDK Srinagar besides their under-hand beneficiaries including fake names and those who have had no connection with electronic media. Sources said that that a show-cause notice was being slapped on 19 defaulter officials of DDK Srinagar on the basis of the findings and recommendations of the report compiled by Deputy Director Administration (DDA) at DD headquarters Mr Ashok Kumar and S.O. Mr Nadeem Ahmad. Those being asked to explain their conduct with regard to unauthorized liability of Rs 64 Crore include Rafeeq Masoodi and Shami Shair.

Interestingly, when the team from Directorate General was conducting the scrutiny, one of DD’s key female anchors, according to FIR No: 110 of Police Station Nageen, was caught red-handed in a compromising position at a public place in Hazratbal with a former MLC of the ruling National Conference. Both were later released on separate bail bonds. However, immediately after her release, the female anchor was called back to Srinagar Station of DD and asked to continue hosting the daily morning show “Good Morning J&K”.

Stop gap, not promotion

Sources today made it clear that it was not only the tainted anchor’s re-appearance in the morning show but also the DD team’s report that resulted in shifting of Mrs Shair from Srinagar to DD headquarters. The team has recommended in the report, submitted to DG DD through ADG Ashok Jailkhani, that the DDK Srinagar officers involved in the “in-house” scandal should be transferred to outside J&K and should be “brought to justice”.

With regard to recent news of the promotion of 14 Deputy Directors of Programme (DDPs), including Mrs Shair, authoritative sources in Prasar Bharti clarified that it was only a “stop gap arrangement”.

“It is not any promotion. They will all function in their own pay and grade of DDP but would temporarily work as incharge Directors of Programme. We call it ‘DDG Current Duty Charge’ and the order makes it clear that this arrangement would in no way influence the seniority list or promotion prospects of these incumbents”, said a top ranking official. He sought to clarify that this file was under process of CEO’s approval for the last few months and had nothing to do with promotion of any of these officers which was within the competence of Union Public Service Commission from Director of Programme and onwards.

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