NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary Committee has urged the information and Broadcasting ministry to take speedy steps to recover the dues that content producers and media agencies owe to Doordarshan.

         In its review of the I&B ministry, the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information Technology has said that it would like to be told about the action taken against the producers and agencies for not making timely payment. The Committee also wants to be apprised whether at any time any of the producers or agencies has been blacklisted by the pubcaster for not paying the outstanding dues.

         While the complete data has not been compiled for 2011-12, the figures that are available and quoted by the Committee clearly show that content producers and agencies for Doordarshan kendras and its national channels owe Rs 4.96 billion in the fiscal ended 31 March 2011.Out of this, Rs 3.30 billion is outstanding from producers and Rs 1.66 billion from agencies.

       Expressing concern over the huge outstanding amount, the Committee has urged the Government to take urgent initiatives to recover the amount from the various producers and agencies.According to I&B ministry sources, Doordarshan has given up as old or dead dues amounting to Rs 496.70 million from 174 agencies or production houses as on 31 March 2011.

        Arbitration proceedings have begun against 84 producers to get back a sum of Rs 2.93 billion. These 84 include agencies which handled the accounts of Sagar Arts (Rs 499.43 million), Sri Adhikari Brothers (Rs 298.98 million) and Cinevista (Rs 113.70 million), among others. Arbitration proceedings are due to begin soon against another eight agencies.

       A more up-to-date outstanding amount is stated by the Committee. According to it, a total of 235 government agencies owed a sum of Rs 388.04 million as outstanding dues to Doordarshan till 31 July 2011.Outstanding dues against 65 advertising agencies as on 31 July 2011 amounts to Rs 605.90 million.

      The data is based on reports from only 17 kendras about the progress in arbitration or court proceedings.According to sources though Prasar Bharati had held Open House sittings in Mumbai to go in for out-of-court settlement of all arbitration cases to recover dues pending with Doordarshan for almost a decade, the response had been poor.

       Another Parliamentary Committee had been informed by the ministry last year that Prasar Bharati and the ministry are unable to recover the Rs 32.5 million owed to the pubcaster by the Ministries of Railways, Agriculture and Rural Development. In its report placed in Parliament during the Budget session, the Committee on Assurances said that I&B ministry had, therefore, asked the Committee to drop the assurance given by then Minister S Jaipal Reddy in August 2005 in reply to a question that Prasar Bharati had said it would pursue the various ministries.

            While Agriculture owed Rs 15 million, Railways had to Rs 10 million and Rural Development Rs 7.5 million since 2003-04. The Committee during its questioning of I &B ministry officials found that the sum was owed on account of the campaign ‘Irada Naye Bharat Ka’ carried out by the pubcaster at the instance of the Prime Minister’s Office.

        The reply by the ministry to the Committee in October 2010 said that the ministry and the pubcaster had both made repeated efforts to recover the amount from these ministries. Despite these efforts, it is not possible to recover the amount.