ACabinet sub-committee has suggested that the Andhra Pradesh government should lease a transponder and establish its own Television Channel to "bring the administration and the people closer to each other".
The sub committee, headed by revenue minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, also examined the possibility of the government entering into an arrangement with one of the existing TV channels in the state _ the Eenadu Television ( ETV), Gemini TV or any other Telugu channel_whereby government's programmes could be telecast by them live during fixed timeslots.
While such a step would not involve much capital investment and would have a short lead time for infrastructure to be put in place, it would considerably limit government information flow to the people, the committee said.
The main advantage in the government going in for its own transponder is that the state can be on air for 24 hours a day. "In fact, strictly on an air-time basis, this option is more cost-effective than the earlier one. During 1999-2000, the telecast expenditure on all channels exceeded Rs 10 crore. Moreover, a full time channel can not only air the daily teleconferences, Assembly proceedings etc, it can also offer documentaries, motivational programmes on various subjects such as health and sanitation, AIDS awareness, family planning, DWCRA, soil and water conservation etc", the Committee said.
It suggested setting up a core team of television professionals to ensure smooth functioning of the state TV, engage in documentary and information capsule production and also set up, train and supervise personnel at the lower administration levels including district towns and mandals.
The sub committee report on which a final decision is yet to be taken, assumes relevance since the Chief Minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, is a firm believer in state-owned media and had, in the past, asked the Centre to allot one Doordarshan channel to Andhra Pradesh to enable it highlight its activities.
In addition to the daily telecast, tele and video conferences by the Chief Minister and others and live telecast of the state assembly proceedings, whenever in session, the sub committee suggested that the state TV should also telecast live the proceedings in the 93 municipalities in the state and a "face to face" telecast of the administrators at the town level with the local citiz-en through the local cable network."
The local administration becomes more responsive and accountable in the face to face programmes while answering and redressing the citizen's problems and complaints", the committee said.
The primary objective of the state TV, according to the sub committee, would be to create awareness about social issues, educate the people about health, hygiene, civic sense and other public issues and help in eradication of illiteracy through distance education.
The state TV will also provide regular updates on various government business information such as tenders, government orders, gazette and employment notices etc. The state TV will also feature regular capsules featuring the beneficiaries of the various government schemes in various places. " This will provide a system of checks and balances on the very process of selection of beneficiaries for the various government schemes", the report said.
By providing live telecast of daily events of the government like the Chief Minister's videoconferencing, state assembly proceedings etc, the state TV will ensure a greater transparency in the administration. The people will be able to see and judge for themselves whether the government administration is working for the people or not, the committee said.
A greater transparency in the day to day functioning of the administration and greater information flow regarding the activities of the government will lead to an increase in accountability on the part of the administration. Moreover, the state TV will bring into public domain all information about sanctioning of contracts for various small, medium and large projects, projecting people's estimates of public works, thus enforcing greater accountability for the contractors etc. the report said.
