Taking cue from the lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha TV channels, the Delhi Assembly too is planning to have its own channel for the live telecast of Vidhan Sabha proceedings.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel has already sought Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley’s permission for the launch of Vidhan Sabha’s own exclusive television channel. If the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting grants permission, the channel would be wholly owned and operated by the legislative Assembly on the lines of the lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha TV.
In a letter to Jaitley which was written in November 2015, the Speaker said the General Purposes Committee of the legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi has decided that there shall be an independent and exclusive television channel wholly owned and operated by the Vidhan Sabha on lines of the lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha TV.
He said the proposed channel’s primary objective would be to bring people closer to the legislature and to create awareness among them by way of direct communication.
The letter said, “I shall be grateful if you could issue necessary instructions to all concerned to facilitate the legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi in obtaining all essential licenses / clearances/ permissions in this regard. I am confident that you would also waive off any conditionalities that may come in way of the Delhi Assembly launching its own channel, keeping in view the noble cause it is intended to serve.”
The speaker said he does not see much of a difficulty in procedures since there was a precedent of the lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha channels getting all necessary clearances under the Sansad Television Network from all concerned agencies, functioning under the Union Government.
The letter said, “I have enclosed herewith an application form, duly filled in, addressed to the Secretary (I & B) for you to issue directions accordingly. I request you to kindly entrust this task on a priority to an officer who could guide my secretariat in completing other formalities, if any.”
A senior AAP functionary said the main idea of having a TV channel is to ensure that democratic processes percolate down to the masses. “People should know what their elected representatives are doing in the legislature.”
Prior to Delhi, Maharashtra was the first State in the country to have shown keen interest in having its own TV channel that could telecast proceedings of its bicameral legislature. The plans are under way to launch Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha TV and Vidhan Parishad TV with the project expected to cost `100 crore.
It is understood that in Delhi, the channel is likely to be uplinked from the secretariat building. The Broadcast Engineering Consultants India limited, a Government of India enterprise, had been providing consultancy to the state secretariat on purchase of spectrum, licensing, establishment of the satellite uplink systems and content creation.