Tweet
After dithering for months, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has finally washed its hands of the PMO directive of a CBI inquiry against former Director General of Doordarshan, Aruna Sharma for the CWG broadcasting scam involving UK-based SIS Live. The scam had caused the exchequer a loss of Rs 135 crore.
“Since Sharma has repatriated to her parent cadre of Madhya Pradesh, now the CBI has to take prosecution sanction from the State Government,” sources in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said.
However, the Ministry has ordered a Departmental inquiry against Sharma based on the Shunglu Committee report which had indicted her along with former Prasar Bharati CEO BS Lalli for granting contract to SIS Live.
The inquiry will be conducted against Sharma by the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Ministry.
Since the Ministry had earlier hesitated in taking any action against Sharma as she had submitted a voluminous reply to the Shunglu committee report in which she had defended her actions saying that she was just the implementing authority, it is relieved that the PMO has already constituted a panel headed by Defence Minister AK Antony to look into the Shunglu report and the responses of the people indicted by it.
Shunglu committee had pointed out that the actual cost of the CWG broadcast contract awarded to SIS Live was at best about Rs 111 crore, thus resulting in a profit of at least Rs 135 crore to it and Zoom Communications. Strongly indicting Lalli and Sharma for this loss to exchequer, it had said that they cannot be “recused from the acts of omission and commission which facilitated this wrong doing.”
However, since the scam had happened despite the existence of an Oversight Committee, the GoM on Prasar Bharati recommended greater power to the Ministry over the public broadcaster so that it could check lapses and scams like those involving the CWG broadcasting rights in future, sources said.
The GoM, headed by P Chidambaram, has finalised its report and I&B Ministry is now preparing a note based on its recommendations so that it could be presented in the Union Cabinet for its clearance.
It has also reportedly suggested amending the Prasar Bharati (The Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990 so as to give Ministry some role as under the present law it has no say in removing any officials, including its CEO, which was evident from the difficulty faced in removing BS Lalli following corruption charges against him.
“Since Sharma has repatriated to her parent cadre of Madhya Pradesh, now the CBI has to take prosecution sanction from the State Government,” sources in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said.
However, the Ministry has ordered a Departmental inquiry against Sharma based on the Shunglu Committee report which had indicted her along with former Prasar Bharati CEO BS Lalli for granting contract to SIS Live.
The inquiry will be conducted against Sharma by the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Ministry.
Since the Ministry had earlier hesitated in taking any action against Sharma as she had submitted a voluminous reply to the Shunglu committee report in which she had defended her actions saying that she was just the implementing authority, it is relieved that the PMO has already constituted a panel headed by Defence Minister AK Antony to look into the Shunglu report and the responses of the people indicted by it.
Shunglu committee had pointed out that the actual cost of the CWG broadcast contract awarded to SIS Live was at best about Rs 111 crore, thus resulting in a profit of at least Rs 135 crore to it and Zoom Communications. Strongly indicting Lalli and Sharma for this loss to exchequer, it had said that they cannot be “recused from the acts of omission and commission which facilitated this wrong doing.”
However, since the scam had happened despite the existence of an Oversight Committee, the GoM on Prasar Bharati recommended greater power to the Ministry over the public broadcaster so that it could check lapses and scams like those involving the CWG broadcasting rights in future, sources said.
The GoM, headed by P Chidambaram, has finalised its report and I&B Ministry is now preparing a note based on its recommendations so that it could be presented in the Union Cabinet for its clearance.
It has also reportedly suggested amending the Prasar Bharati (The Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990 so as to give Ministry some role as under the present law it has no say in removing any officials, including its CEO, which was evident from the difficulty faced in removing BS Lalli following corruption charges against him.
