The Information and Broadcasting ministry and Prasar Bharati are locked in a tussle over who should have the final say in the appointment as well as the removal of chairperson and members of a board being set up to carry out recruitments for the public broadcaster.
A draft notification proposed by the I and B ministry suggests that Prasar Bharati board should select suitable persons for the post of chairperson and two full time members of Prasar Bharati Recruitment Board (PBRB) and forward them to the central government for approval.
The broadcaster however has sought modifications as it feels the idea goes against "legislative intent."
As per the notification proposed by the ministry, appointments should be made after receipt of approval from the Central Government or the Cabinet Committee for Appointments. The rules suggested also lay down that for the removal of these members, prior approval of the central government would also have to be taken.
The move however has raised fears in Prasar Bharati that adoption of these rules would give central government a direct say in recruitment of personnel which would affect the autonomy of the public broadcaster.
Sources told PTI that Prasar Bharati's Member (Personnel) V A M Hussain has written to the I&B ministry seeking modification of the provisions in the draft notification.
Opposing the rules in the draft notification, Hussain in his letter has said that if implemented they would result in a situation that "Prasar Bharati is left with the powers of selection and formal notification of appointment but final say in the appointment would be that of the Government.
"This militates against the legislative intent that it is the Prasar Bharati that has to establish the Board. As such, legislative intent was that Prasar Bharati would have the last word in the matter of appointment and removal of Members of PBRB," Hussain's letter to the I&B ministry says.
However I&B officials maintained that they had held due consultations and had acted on the advice of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
"We have consulted Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Department of Expenditure on the issue. The Department of Personnel is the custodian of rules. How can we overrule what has been suggested by them," I&B secretary Bimal Julka told PTI when contacted.
Julka also added that initially Prasar Bharati officials had agreed to the rules in the notification but objections may have come later.
When asked to comment on whether the public broadcaster should have the final say in appointments to the recruitment board, Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar said that "the law says so."
Sources said that setting up of the board has been vital for the Public Broadcaster which has been facing a manpower crunch in very key areas.
Officials also say that with the likelihood of imposition of code of conduct before the next general elections, there are apprehensions that the constitution of the PBRB could be further delayed. The public broadcaster faces manpower crunch in several key areas and hiring should begin at the earliest.
Prasar Bharati has also suggested modification in the I&B ministry's draft notification which says that expenses of PBRB would be met by the public broadcaster.
Officials said that the Prasar Bharati had sought that as per government's own decision based on a recommendation of a Group of Ministers (GoM), the expenses on salary of chairperson and members of PBRB should be borne by the government.
I and B ministry and Prasar Bharati have taken a divergent view on various issues in the past. In a recent instance, the I&B ministry categorically wrote to Prasar Bharati that monetising its installations and offering space to banks to open ATMs in its installations was inadvisable.
The Prasar Bharati board, however, ignored the ministry's direction and has in a recent meeting decided to go ahead with the idea.