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NEW
DELHI: A bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha seeking to reduce
the term of the Chairman of Prasar Bharati to three years
from the six and for the CEO to five from the present six
stipulated in the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation
of India) Act 1990.
With
the aim of ‘injecting sectoral experience to rejuvenate’
the public service broadcaster, the Bill also provides for
fixing the upper age limit of the Chairman at 70 to ensure
appointment of comparatively younger talent and experience’.
In the parent Act, there is no age limit for the Chairman.
Reducing
the term of the Chairman will, according to the Statement
of Objects and Reasons appended to the Bill, ‘help to
bring diversity of experience at the top level for the benefit
of the organisation. Similarly, a need is also being felt
for change in the tenure and upper age limit of Chief Executive
Officer from six to five years and from 62 years to 65 years
respectively.'
The
Bill also makes it clear that both the Chairman and the CEO
cease to hold office if their appointment is inconsistent
with the provisions of the Ordinance.
Thus veteran journalist M V Kamath, who is 86, will have to
resign before his term comes to an end on 9 January 2009.
He had been in the news in January this year when he did not
accept the suggestion by CEO Baljit Singh Lalli to induct
fellow IAS officers in All Indian Radio and Doordarshan. The
Board turned down the move to provide for professionals in
radio and TV as recommended by the Parliamentary Standing
Committee.
In January 2003, the Congress party had called Kamath’s
appointment as “one more blatant attempt by the National
Democratic Alliance government to influence DD and AIR”.
Kamath, who will turn 87 in September, is a senior columnist
and commentator on a whole range of national and international
issues and an author of over 35 books on diverse subjects
such as journalism, travel, history and culture, biography,
politics and philosophy.
B
S Lalli, 61, took charge as Chief Executive Officer of Prasar
Bharati at the end of December 2006. He is an Indian Administrative
Service officer of the 1971 batch from the Uttar Pradesh cadre
with vast administrative and managerial experience spanning
over three decades.
The bill, seeking to replace an ordinance promulgated to this
effect by the President on 7 February, was introduced by Information
and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi.
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