The exit of tainted bureaucrat BS Lalli as CEO has not ended the woes of Prasar Bharati. Its officiating CEO Rajiv Takru and Member Finance, two of the three officials running the public broadcaster’s show, are now engaged in a bitter battle.

        Jain has alleged “irregularities” in the ICC World Cup match broadcasting rights by way of “gross underbidding” by Doordarshan resulting in the ESPN getting their marketing rights just for Rs 32 crore. He has demanded a CBI inquiry into it. He has also alleged that the public broadcaster had suffered a loss of about Rs 15 crore due to payment made to Income Tax department on behalf of Intelsat, whose satellite Doordarshan used, sources in the Prasar Bharati told The Pioneer.

         On the other hand, the Prasar Bharati board has refused to pass the accounts for 2009-10 even as Takru has charged Jain with “accounting fraud”. He has also reportedly suggested to the Board that Jain should be removed using the same provision of the Prasar Bharati Act that was used against Lalli.

        Doordarshan had made a bid of just Rs 30 crore, far less than Rs 53 crore made for India-England cricket series in 2006, and even bid for the last World Cup played in West Indies in 2007. According to sources close to Jain, the minimum bid should have been more than Rs 60 crore and Doordarshan could have earned huge profit by marketing the World Cup matches for as much as Rs 112 crore. He had also objected that the matter was not decided by the Empowered Committee on Sports Rights (ECSR).

        However, Takru contests these “half-baked wild allegations,” on the ground that bid was just meant as “minimum guarantee.” It has not affected earnings as ESPN has marketed the ten matches played in India for Rs 70 crore and as per the agreement they shared the revenue with ESPN getting 75 per cent and Doordarshan 25 per cent ie Rs 17.5 crore.

      “If Doordarshan had bid based on irresponsible projection of Rs 112 crore given by Member Finance and was not able to market it, it would have to pay ESPN Rs 84 crore, thereby making a huge loss,” he said.

      Regarding the Technical committee not clearing it, Takru said that at a meeting the then DG Doordarshan Aruna Sharma and Jain had differed with “a lot of unpleasantness and fight”, so the matter was taken to the Board which approved bidding at Rs 30 crore.

      Defending payment made to IT department, Takru said it was necessary to avoid criminal and civil proceedings as according to the provision of the Income Tax Act the department could recover the money from anybody who owed payment to Intelsat. When Prasar Bharati received notice in November last year, it had no option but to oblige. Besides, delay in making payment would have resulted in fine being imposed on the public broadcaster, he contends.

       Meanwhile, the Board has refused to pass the accounts for 2009-10 as Takru alleges “serious lapses” in the accounts, including “doubtful amounts and bad debt worth Rs 423 crore being included in the balance sheet. This is being looked into.

        However, Jain has written to Prasar Bharati chairperson Mrinal Pande and other members protesting against “repetitive falsehood and unsubstantiated wild allegations” levelled by Takru. He has pointed out that even CAG has certified that accounts are “true and fair and as per the accounting standards”, sources said.

       They claimed that Jain, who had earlier protested against the appointment of Takru as officiating CEO neglecting the claims of permanent members, is being “targeted” and his power and functions have been divested. But Takru denied any “vendetta and victimisation” of Jain saying it was the decision of the Board which is supreme.

        “The Board is trying to set its house in order as Lalli was not the only one responsible for the tremendous mess in the Prasar Bharati and there are plenty of others who contributed to it. So, the three member committee, headed by Board chairperson, is looking into all these issue,” he said.

       However, Jain feels that even the Board cannot take away the power and functions assigned to him under the law and hopes that his power be restored in the next Board meeting on May 13, sources said.

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