The Prasar Bharati Board has asked information and broadcasting ministry additional secretary Rajiv Takru to take charge of the work of suspended CEO, BS Lalli.

          It also set up five fast track committees — each headed by a board member — to come up with reports for the way forward on every aspect of the public broadcaster’s functioning. All five committees will be submitting monthly updates and will have to turn in their final reports by March 31.

         Takru was the government nominee on the board and will be reporting to board chairperson Mrinal Pande for his work as executive member.

         In the absence of any provisions in the Prasar Bharati Act to appoint an acting CEO, the only solution open to the board was to ask any full-time member to carry out the job.

       The first committee will deal with finance and audit. It will undertake a financial assessment of assets and liabilities and identify areas of concern. The committee will also examine PB’s system of audits and examine whether internal audits can be introduced. The second committee will deal with personnel problems that have been plaguing the public broadcaster. In addition to a complete personnel audit, the committee will examine and prepare report on all pending court cases. Identifying vacancies, expediting recruitment rules, salary grievances and working conditions will also be addressed by this committee.

         Takru himself will head two committees. The Project Monitoring Implementation Committee will devise suitable marketing and promotional strategy. The Production and Content Committee will come up with the master plan for resource utilisation. The fifth committee will be headed by the chairperson and will deal with strategy and vision.

      When it vested Takru with the power to carry out Lalli’s work, the board dissolved a three-member committee that had been appointed earlier by the Delhi High Court.

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