Prasar Bharati saves AIR units

The RNUs at Indore, Pune, Dibugarh, Bhuj, Dharwad, Trichy and Kozhikode were to be closed while Allahabad, Pauri, Jalandhar, Patiala and Coimbatore would have ceased to have correspondents. Copies of the August 11 Prasar Bharati order have not been marked to the MIB. “The Ministry makes appointments in the news division while Prasar Bharati makes all other appointments. However, it looks like the MIB did not even consult Prasar Bharati before taking the decision to close the Regional News Units (RNUs),” said an officer in one of the three affected bodies who did not want to be named.

A senior Prasar Bharati official confirmed that the organisation considered the Ministry's decision as an intrusion on its autonomy. ‘Ministry’s prerogative’ “It is the Ministry's prerogative to transfer its officials. However, it is up to the Prasar Bharati to ensure that there is no break in our programming," he said.The Prasar Bharati has no plans to end programming in any center, the official said. “Dharwad, for example, is the cultural capital of Karnataka. The fishermen rely on our Tiruchi programming for information," said the official. An MIB spokesperson requesting anonymity said the changes were part of a streamlining effort.

“This was a good way of strengthening the PIB. The government has to keep reinventing itself and make better utilisation of resources,” he said, refuting suggestions that the Prasar Bharati had not been taken into confidence: “There is a lot of understanding that goes into any decision the government takes.” In all, 24 cities and towns across 13 States have been affected by the changes made by the MIB. Tamil Nadu stands to lose the most, with Chennai losing an RNI field office and Madurai the PIB's branch. Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Naidu’s home State, and Telangana are the only States in the South that have not lost any offices.

The move has caught the officers affected unawares. Earlier this year, the Additional Director General at the Chennai PIB requested the opening of a new office. “It is requested that a new PIB branch office may please be opened in the UT of Puducherry which is the only Union Territory having a Legislative Assembly,” wrote ADG K. Muthu Kumar on March 3. Instead of a new office, the region stands to lose the Madurai branch. The Registrar of Newspapers office in Chennai is already understaffed, with just three officials.

“Tamil Nadu has a total of 8,225 titles and the office verifies 80-100 titles a months. They are already not able to perform surprise checks. When officers of the PIB take over, they will not be able to keep up,” said an officer familiar with the working of the RNI. He added that if reforms were on the MIB’s mind, it could have given the new State offices the power to issue certificates; applications are still being forwarded to Delhi for allotting registration numbers. ‘Public service broadcaster has no plans to end programming in any centre’

Source and Credit :-http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/prasar-bharati-saves-air-units/article8987136.ec
Forwarded by :- Shri. Jainendra Nigam ,PB News Desk, prasarbharati.newsdesk@gmail.com