The Central government introduced Prasar Bharati Amendment Bill, 2010, in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Aug 31.


        The bill was introduced to give effect to the recommendation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) that all government officers and employees shall continue to serve in the public broadcaster on 'deemed deputation' till the time of their retirement.


      The employees working under deputation will get all facilities at par with Central government employees. The legislation was introduced in the House by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni.

        Ambika Soni told that in the light of government receiving several representations from Prasar Bharati employees about their status in it, the ministry decided to amend the Prasar Bharati Act 1990, as it did not have provisions to address these concerns.

          The decision of the GoM had come as a relief to around 40,000 employees, who have been working in Prasar Bharati on deemed deputation basis. They had been seeking perks which are given to Central Government employees.

          The GoM in its meeting on April 16, 2010, had suggested that status quo be maintained on the status of employees in Prasar Bharati belonging Indian Information Service and the Central Secretariat Service and other cadres outside the cadre of Doordarshan and All India Radio. It had further said that the ministry and Prasar Bharati could jointly work out the number of deputation posts to be manned by officers from IIS cadre.

         "Since the recommendations of the GoM will settle all long standing issues regarding status of employees working in Prasar Bharati and empower the public broadcaster with all disciplinary and supervisory powers, including the power to transfer, it has become necessary to amend the Act," said Soni.

 

          The Bill also provides that persons recruited after Nov 23, 1997, which is the date on which the Prasar Bharati was set up, and serving in it on the date of decision of the Group of Ministers, Oct 5, 2007, will also be treated as on 'deemed deputation' basis in the Prasar Bharati and enjoy all Central government employees facilities.

         The GoM had said that employees recruited from 6 October 2007 will also be deemed to be employees of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) and subject to rules drawn up by the Board of the public broadcaster.

          Though the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act was passed in June 1990, it was notified as a statutory corporation only from November 1997. Section 11 of the Act had given employees the option to decide whether they wanted to join the Corporation or go back to the government, but no action was taken as the rules for various categories of employees have not been drawn up in the past 12 years.

          Accepting the recommendation of the GoM in January 2009, the Cabinet had said all employees working on that date in vacant government posts and recruited as per government rules shall enjoy status equivalent to employees serving on deemed deputation from the date of their joining the service under All India Radio or Doordarshan till the time of their retirement. However, they will not be entitled to any deputation allowance.

           You can read the press release of Press Information Bureau about the cabinet decision of the government in the link   http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=47073&kwd=

          FRIENDS OF PRASAR BHARATI   demands that  that the cut off date should be extended to the future date on which the above  amendment happening (if it happens ), to include all employees recruited till that date as central government employees on deputation to PB. We believe that two types of  permanent employees will not be a ideal situation for any organisation and it will be better if all employees (including present & future) are of equal status with out ant discrimination.

           Till today Prasar Bharati Board  has not framed  its Recruitment board , not approved its  recruitment rules and  not approved its  service conditions of the  employees. In fact Prasar Bharati has not recruited  even a single employee. All the recruitments were done by AIR & DD , based on the recruitment rules & service conditions of AIR &DD employees only. In this scenario it is irrational and against all natural justice to categorise  those employees recruited after Oct.5,2007 as Prasar Bharati employees. Because in the present scenario  Prasar Bharati is not at all a financially viable organisation also.