Parliamentary panel asks Prasar Bharati to fill vacancies

New Delhi, Sep 14 (UNI) Noting that as many as 17,214 posts were lying vacant in the Prasar Bharati, a Parliamentary Committee has asked the Government to solve the issue immediately, as the shortage of manpower, especially qualified personnel, was badly affecting the quality of programmes in the Doordarshan and All India Radio.

It has asked the government to tell the National Productivity Council (NPC), which has been engaged by the Prasar Bharati to go into its organisational restructuring to give its report within a stipulated time.

The panel, however, told the Prasar Bharati not to hold up decision on improving the organisation on the plea of the delay in submission of report by the NPC.

''The huge gap between the required and existing manpower further emphasises the need to resolve the issue immediately,'' the Parliamentary Committee said.

The panel said that after the NPC gave its report, the Prasar Bharati should work out and submit a comprehensive proposal to the Ministry in consultation with the Ministry of Finance.

In the meantime, it said some relief ought to be provided to the Prasar Bharati immediately so that it was able to augment its staff strength through some short-term measures.

It advised the Ministry to make the programme advisory committee more purposeful.

The Ministry has told the Parliamentary panel that new guidelines for commissioning the programmes had been approved by the Prasar Bharati Board, and the money constraint would be addressed by capital restructuring.

It said that Joint Programme Advisory Committees had been set up at many state capitals to aid and advise the AIR and Doordarshan station concerned.

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