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New Delhi, Aug 31 (UNI) The special plan to increase radio coverage in the broder areas of Jammu and Kashmir is held up for lack of staff, rendering the costly equipment unserviceable and obsolete with each passing year.

The projects are not being commissioned despite being technically ready since the last three years as there is no trained manpower to run and maintain them, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology.

This is defeating the very purpose of providing the special package to the state, the Standing Committee said in its 32nd Report.

The 200 KW Medium Wave transmitter in Kargil and One KW medium Wave relay transmitter each in Drass, Padum, Diskit and Nyomarap have been completed but cannot be commissioned for want of operational and maintenance staff.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has told the Committee that the shortage of manpower was due to the ban on recruitment for newly-created posts.

In fact, the shortage of manpower was the principal reason for non-commissioning of all the technically ready projects of both AIR and DD, which was a clear case of poor coordination between the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Finance.

The Committee is of the view that if additional allocation of funds is provided under the J&K radio expansion Plan, special sanction for creating new posts and making recruitment to them should also be given.

''The I&B Ministry should make special efforts to convince the ministries of Finanace and Personnel of the urgency of removal of the ban on recrutment in J&K as a special case,'' the Committee said.

Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati may explore the idea of hiring defence personnel on deputation and deploying them along with redeployed staff of the Prasar Bharati on attrative terms exclusive to J&K, it suggested.

The projects that have been commissioned so far are upgradation of FM transmitter in Kathua from six KW to 10 KW, replacement of 200 KW Medium Wave transmitter by 300 KW in Srinagar, 20 KW Medium Wave relay transmitter in Naushera, 10 KW FM relay transmitter in Rajouri, 20 KM medium Wave relay transmitter in Kupwara and one KW medium wave relay transmitter in Khalsi.

UNI NAZ AK BS1319