Par panel pulls up Prasar Bharti for not following rules

A Parliamentary panel today pulled up Prasar Bharti for non-implementation of the Prasar Bharti Act with regard to recruitment regulations and service conditions of its employees and strongly recommended steps to take care of their promotional prospects.

"The Committee observes that the main cause of apprehension in the mind of employees is the uncertainty about their recruitment regulations and service conditions," the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology said in its report on the Prasar Bharati Amendment Bill 2010.

The Committee also recommended a comprehensive review of the Prasar Bharati Act without any further delay.

The Bill to address the status of all employees working on "deemed deputation" in Prasar Bharati was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August.

The Committee remarked that had the recruitment regulations been finalised before bringing the legislation to Parliament the concerns of the employees could have been addressed to some extent.

"The Committee place on record their unhappiness over the action on the part of Prasar Bharati in implementing the Prasar Bharati Act," the report said.

It noted that treating the officers and employees recruited by Prasar Bharati differentially as provided in the legislation is fraught with legal complications and cautioned the ministry to look into the legal implications carefully so as to avoid court cases in the future.

It also asked Prasar Bharati to set up Recruitment Boards and finalise recruitment regulations and service conditions of employees of the broadcaster without any delay.

The Committee also made a strong recommendation to regularise the services of work-charged employees engaged by the Civil Construction Wing of All India Radio who do not find any place in the amendment bill, after adjusting them against the existing vacancies.

It asked the Prasar Bharti to increase its revenue substantially by taking the benefit of its wider coverage in the country