Doordarshan, SIS Live dismiss allegations of irregularities

Having faced brickbats from all quarters, public broadcaster Doordarshan and SIS Live, the UK-based company that had the sole broadcasting rights for CWG games with a Rs 246-crore contract, today refuted allegations of impropriety, saying the deal was transparent.

SIS Live said it had paid all service taxes due in accordance with the regulations; the last payment being made in October and the next payment due in January 2011.

“SIS Live has kept proper accounts and copies of bills. These are administered by our central service centre in the UK, and operated online from India. Since the Income Tax Department visit to our project office in Delhi on October 5, we have provided all the documents requested – over 2,500 – within the agreed timescale,” it added.

Dismissing as baseless allegations of corruption, Doordarshan Director General Aruna Sharma said the whole contract was transparent. She said, “The firm was selected after a thorough and unbiased procedure based on government rules.” Asked about the charge that SIS Live had floated an entity in India solely for the purpose of executing the contract, she said, “The company needs godowns and other infrastructure support to implement the work. We gave the contract to them and it is upto them how they complete the task. There was nothing wrong in it.”