The slot sale policy announced by Doordarshan a few months ago has not only producers arraigned against one another but the CEO of the Prasar Bharati Corporation, Jawhar Sircar, also faces problems as he hurries to push through the scheme before he demits office in February.
A series of exchanges between Mr. Sircar, a former IAS officer, and members of the Prasar Bharati Board shows not only the positions taken by the members on the issue but also the impatience of Mr. Sircar as he lashes out at people for not standing up for him. “In 2012, I was thrown into a hostile atmosphere from Day One, and I can’t remember any support … but my support is wearing thin,” Mr. Sircar writes.
The Hindu has been able to access the series of e-mails exchanged in May when DD faced resistance to the proposed switch to a new regime in which prime slots are to be auctioned, fetching the broadcaster revenues — an exercise that has failed twice.
As Mr. Sircar himself writes in a mail: “There are some 30-odd top content providers but 27 did not participate, which is indeed an eye-opener about what people think of DD. I guess we have to go back to the drawing board once again.”
Mr. Sircar, however, refused to comment on the still-born process. While his tenure is due to end in February, sources say he wants to quit sooner and wants the policy in place before his departure. The Chairperson of the Corporation, Surya Prakash, said the Board stood committed to the new policy. “We will be taking it up to examine the issue all over again, when the Board meets in October,” Mr. Prakash said.
Unseemly hurryWhile Mr. Prakash has played down the differences in the Board, former media adviser to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a board member, Ashok Tandon, has questioned Mr. Sircar’s wisdom in hurrying through with the proposal. In a mail on September 20, 2016, to Mr. Prakash, Mr. Tandon writes, “We should not go for any further round of slot sale auction without properly ascertaining the factors responsible for the failure of the first two rounds and till all necessary remedial measures have been put in place to make our policy a fool-proof instrument for betterment of the public service broadcaster.”
Mr. Tandon told The Hindu , “In view of the fact that the DD establishment wants to rectify its past mistakes, and the CEO’s desire to push the policy in a hurry, I would urge Mr. Prakash to convene a meeting of the Board as soon as possible to sort out the matter.”
The Prasar Bharati Corporation is funded by the I&B Ministry. Only 15 per cent of the budget is spent on content; the rest goes for salaries to over 31,261 staff.
The policy shift announced earlier this year, it may be recalled, had invited sharp criticism from Mr. Tandon, who had written to Mr. Prakash three months ago, cautioning against any hasty implementation of the new policy.
