The 1,000-odd cable television operators in Haryana say they got some respite from the Punjab and Haryana High Court today on the new licencing policy proposed for them by the state government.
The court has asked the state government to file its reply by December 17. It heard the matter on a petition filed by over two dozen cable operators from Kurushetra against the move to have only one-city, one-operator licences, to be auctioned for three years at a time.
“From the court proceedings today, we believe now the state government or its municipal bodies in various towns cannot call for the auction of cable licenses till the matter is resolved. And if they do, we can move court to get it stayed,” said Ashok Chawla, a leading operator from Kurushetra and the Haryana representative of the Cable Operators Federation of India, their apex association.
When asked, Ravi Dutta Sharma, counsel for the state government in the case, said: “It was a five-minute hearing today and now we have to file our reply in the court by December 17. It is not the state government but the municipal bodies that can call for auction of cable licences.”
The operators had pleaded violation of their fundamental right to livelihood and also a violation of the existing cable TV laws, in approaching the HC against the proposed Haryana Municipal (Laying of Communication Cables and Erection of Dish Antenna) Amendment Bye-laws, 2009.
The notification had said no cable operator would provide services without a mandatory licence got through an open auction in every town, city or municipal area. It would have brought all cable operators in the state under the proposed licence regime.
There are currently around 1,000 cable operators and around 300 Multi Service Operators (MSOs) that provide cable TV services in Haryana to seven million homes. Under the notification, the state government would have also fixed a reserve price for each city or town, based on the number of television homes, cable homes and the likely revenue potential that could be generated through advertisements on cable.“We are registered cable operators and MSOs under the cable laws. Auctioning of licence infringes upon our right to earn a living. Several of us do not have the money to participate in the bidding process,” said an operator.