| NEW
DELHI: Though the government had planned to take up the broadcasting bill in the
current session of the Parliament, it is now certain that this would not be possible,
with the information & broadcasting minister having stated recently that he
will try his best to take it up in the winter session. Sources
revealed that there are several pushes and pulls within the ministry, especially
over the issue of wresting regulatory powers from Trai. The
officials at I&B ministry say that the chances of the monsoon session of the
Parliament seeing the bill are Nil, because much of the process is incomplete,
and the minister, Priyaranjan Das Munshi has found little or no time to deal with
the bill so far. Sources
told indiantelevision.com that even now some stakeholders are yet to give their
suggestions, and whatever has come in from the rest are still being studied. "These
would have to be looked into and then the final bill will be drafted, and sent
to the minister. He would then work on that and send it back with the changes
he desires, which we shall then put out on the official website for public discussion,
so you see how long it would take?" an official told Indiantelevision.com. There
are other issues which the broadcasters are disturbed about, one of the key issues
being why the government is giving out the bill in drips and drabs. The
broadcasters said today that they have been told they would be given another chance
at a meeting, whose date is yet to be decided, during which they could further
state their points, and those comments too would be studied before the minister
is sent the redrafted bill for his comments, further delaying it. "They
now have the code of content bill, and they have the sports sharing bill, and
so on, which should all be part of the broadcasting bill. They have yet to decide
about the structure of the broadcast regulatory authority body, so why can't they
put everything under a single Act?" a senior broadcast industry official
griped. The
delay is also because the minister has little time for this ministry at the moment. "With
two ministries, both of vital importance (I&B and Parliamentary Affairs) and
the second taking most of his time during the Parliament session, plus the Presidential
elections in hand and his involvement with the football association… he hardly
finds time for the I&B work," an official said. During
the session, the minister for Parliamentary Affairs has an incredibly busy schedule,
and for the Presidential polls he has to work with the allies, and function as
the official spokesperson of the government. It is understandable that he would
not be able to find in this session to deal with the bill, officials said. Besides,
the bill had been drafted by the previous secretary of the department, and the
present incumbent would obviously need time to get the works in place. Somewhere
between the minister giving his consent to the bill, and it being placed in the
Parliament, the proposed legislation would also have to go via the ministry of
law, which makes sure that first, there is nothing in a bill that clashes with
Constitutional provisions, and second, its legal posturing and wording is flawless. All
this would take a lot of time, officials explained. But
what is for sure is that unless the bureaucrats in Shastri Bhavan have ensured
that they have built in all the measures to take back full control from the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which now deals with all major broadcasting
issues, the bill would not get the green light. | 
