Various issues related to the media and journalists were raised during a meeting of Press Council of India sub committee with the State’s Information secretary here on Thursday. The PCI team coordinator Gurvinder Singh and member PK Das informed that they had held a meeting with representatives of various journalists’ organisations and journalists in Dehradun. The team members also sought information about decisions taken by the State Government for the welfare of journalists in addition to which cognisance was also taken of problems being faced by journalists.
Singh said that journalists’ organisations had raised some objections to the State Government’s new print media advertisement regulations which need to be considered by the Information department. He said that the department should ensure observance of the provisions made in the advertising regulations of the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP). Responding to this, the State’s Information secretary Vinod Sharma claimed that the print media advertisement rules had been made in favour of the media.
For the first time in the State, the advertisement rates have been increased by about threefolds. Interests of all types of newspapers have been considered by the department. The procedure for issuing advertisements has been made transparent. Necessary amendments will be made as per the directions given by the PCI sub committee, said Sharma. In the meeting, PK Das said that some organisations had objected to the fact that the Press and advertisement accreditation committee has not been formed in the State so far. Sharma replied that the department had sought information from journalists’ organisations regarding the formation of accreditation committees.
The process has been delayed due to delay in responses by the organisations but the committees will be formed soon, he said. Das said that some journalists had informed that the free transportation facility provided for accredited journalists in the State’s roadways buses was not being provided on roadways buses outside the State to the journalists with district level accreditation. The secretary stated that the government is providing free transportation facility in roadways buses to journalists accredited at the district and State levels. A government order will be issued soon after amendments necessary to facilitate free transport on roadways buses for district level reporters outside the State. Sharma claimed that the State Government is taking all possible steps for the welfare of journalists.
The journalists’ welfare fund had been increased and special care is taken of medium and small newspapers in advertisements released periodically. In 2014-15 advertisements worth Rs 13.21 crore, Rs 3.56 crore and Rs 8.41 crore were released for big, medium and small newspapers respectively. Apart from this, in the current financial year, about Rs 15 lakh has been spent in cases of reimbursement of medical treatment expenses of journalists. Sharma further informed that process is underway to implement the pension scheme as directed by the chief minister Harish Rawat for journalists aged above 60 years. The State is also in the process of facilitating accordance of heritage newspaper status to recognised newspapers being published for a long time since before State formation. Singh informed that in the meeting with chief minister, a request had been made for according special status to newspapers being published from the mountainous regions. The chief minister approved the request, he added.