High Court issues notices to Centre and three others on PIL

Ahmedabad, Mar 30 (UNI) Gujarat High Court today issued notices to the Union Government, Prasar Bharati, Doordarshan Ahmedabad and Darpana Academy following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by three local television programme producers for allegedly alloting the project in an arbitrary manner.

Gujarat High Court Judge Akshay H Mehta admitted the petition filed by three local television programme producers--Sanil Dalal, Abhilash Ghoda and Himali Oza and issued notices to the parties concerned to be present on the next hearing of the case on April 20.

The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has allotted a Rs 10-crore pilot project to Darpana Academy of Performing Arts for production of development programmes to be aired on Gujarat's Doordarshan Kendra.

Then the local producers had moved Gujarat High Court to seek stay on its telecast which began on Wednesday. They also sought an investigation and fixing of responsibility of officials concerned in allotting the project allegedly in an arbitrary manner without following the regular procedure of inviting offers from others.

In the PIL filed last week, TV producers alleged that Darpana Academy is not at all a programme producer but it is given the pilot project involving a cost that is five times more than the normal cost at prevailing market rate of Rs 40,000 per episode.

The pilot project will produce programmes under the title ''Use of electronic media, social change and empowerment in the State of Gujarat''. Under this, a series of documentaries highlighting the condition of women in Gujarat will be made.

UNI