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Bloated AIR, DD face jumbo problem of overstaffing

Facing a stiff challenge from far leaner private television networks, Prasar Bharati is battling a vigorous opposition to moves to redeploy part of its bloated 44,000 workforce in Doordarshan and All India Radio.

Efforts by Prasar Bharati Board, the body which oversees functioning of DD and AIR, for optimum utilisation of the overstaffed organisation have met with stiff resistance from its employees who have threatened strikes and agitations, official sources said.

While Doordarshan, which has a staff of 20,451, generated an all-time high revenue of Rs 610.29 crore, AIR with 24,321 employees earned Rs 90 crore in 1999-2000.

This is against private TV channels, Sony and Zee,projecting revenues of over Rs 400 crore each, with less than five per cent of the DD’s workforce. While Zee TV, which has ten channels has only 725 employees, Sony TV, with two channels, have a mere 200. As Prasar Bharati plans to set its house in order, the employees are protesting the redeployment orders being enforced to bring rationalisation and efficiency in the operation of DD and AIR across the country.

There is a resistance among employees in New Delhi to be redeployed even a few kilometres away from the Parliament Street office to the CPC office in South Delhi, sources said.

While AIR employs 7,269 engineering staff, 7000 programme and 10,052 administrative staff, DD has 10,988 as engineering staff, 3,921 for programming and 5,542 in the administrative wing.

Sources said the paradox of the situation was that nearly 100 AIR stations, set up at a cost of Rs 265 crore, were not giving full transmission due to non-positioning of staff.

Besides, 12 radio stations, with an investment of Rs 26 crore, could not be commissioned and put to use for want of staff.

Same is the story in Doordarshan where 192 transmitters with an investment of Rs 160 crore were not being fully utilised for lack of adequate staff. Thirty three DD Maintenance Centres are not fully functional because of this.

Ten studios and 50 transmitters could not be commissioned so far on grounds of lack of staff.

The non-functional studio centres include Shanti Niketan Allahabad, Varanasi, Jalpaiguri, Pune, Bhawanipatna, Indore, Gwalior and Jagdalpur.

Citing an example, sources said 11 of the offices and stations of AIR including some in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta have excess staff of nearly 230, most of it in the engineering division.

PTI