Smriti Irani’s I&B Min Blocks DD, AIR Salaries: Report

I&B and Prasar Bharati are in an alleged stand-off over Rs 2.92 crore fees to a private firm for IFFI 2017 coverage.

The Prasar Bharati board has reportedly rejected a demand from the National Film Development Corprotation (NFDC) that Doordashan should pay a sum of Rs 2.92 crore as expenses for hiring a private firm for the live coverage of the 2017 International Film Festival (IFFI)

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Smriti Z Irani‏)

Union Minister Smriti Irani has reportedly blocked the funds that pay salaries of those employed under Prasar Bharati (PB). According to a 1 March report by The Wire, Irani has withheld funds since December 2017, forcing PB to dip into its contingency reserve for payments. At this rate, PB will deplete all of its funds by April, Surya Prakash, the chairman of the PB board told The Wire.

Prasar Bharati employs close to 5,000 employees, and the funds for the autonomous institution is allocated in the Union budget and routed through the I&B ministry on a monthly basis.

Rs 2.92 Crore IFFI Row

The latest strain in the ties between the I&B ministry and the Prasar Bharati comes after alleged stand-off over the payment of Rs 2.92 crore as fees to a private firm for the live coverage of the 2017 International Film Festival (IFFI), as reported by PTI.

The news agency quoted sources as saying that in a meeting on 15 February, the Prasar Bharati board rejected the demand from the National Film Development Corporation, a PSU under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, and asked why a private firm was engaged when Doordarshan was "fully qualified" to do the task.

"A nominated member brought a tabled item to the board, asking it (Doordarshan/Prasar Bharati) to pay Rs 2. 92 crore. The board rejected it in its meeting," the source told PTI.

"Doordarshan officials strongly objected to NFDC's demand. They said Doordarshan is fully qualified for such coverage and has been doing it all these years, why should a private company be asked to do it now," the source said.

Prasar Bharati Rejects Stand-Off Reports

In a 1 March report, the Indian Express revealed details of an RTI that it had filed to request details on the private deal. As per the report, the NFDC responded to the RTI that the contract for opening and closing ceremonies as well as for the red carpet had been awarded to SOL Productions. However, it did not disclose the financial details of the contract.

The Indian Express also reported that the NFDC asked DD to pay Rs 2.92 crore, including Rs 2.25 crore for live coverage, Rs 22.5 lakh as NFDC fee and Rs 44.55 lakh as GST. The daily reported that according to official records, the NFDC has been asking Doordarshan for the money since a week before the festival opened on 20 November.

Hours after the report was published, Prasar Bharati issued a statement on Twitter, dismissing the report as an “attempt to manufacture controversy”.

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