Ordinance on CAS this week

Armed with the Delhi government's "field report" on the adverse impact of the controversial conditional access system (CAS), the Centre is all set to issue an ordinance within a week to scrap the system in the present form.

In the view of "problems" being faced by consumers due to the implementation of CAS in south Delhi since December 15, the issue of its review has been discussed at the highest level in the government, with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee favouring a "more people-friendly" system, officials said.

The information and broadcasting ministry is consulting the law ministry on the legal aspects of the ordinance, which is expected soon, they said.

The ordinance, which will cite the "numerous problems" faced by consumers as mentioned in the Delhi government's "field report", will help the government circumvent the Delhi High Court that has directed the implementation of CAS.

"The field report will help the government convince the high court that the present form of CAS is not as consumer-friendly as was deemed to be," the officials said.

The report, sent by the Delhi government to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, mentions that consumers are facing problems and were wary of adopting CAS because of various reasons.