Manish Kumar
post news network
Bhubaneswar, June 3: It is now almost nine years since community radios started functioning in India, but it seems they have failed to attract the attention of the Modi-led Central government. An RTI filed by this correspondent reveals that the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) has failed to utilise the allotted Central funds meant especially for community radios during the last fiscal.
According to the RTI reply, a sum of Rs 2.65 crore was sanctioned by the ministry for the 2014-15 fiscal, but the ministry till May could utilise only Rs 2.27 crore, with almost Rs 40 lakh remaining unspent. This comes at a time when a number of community radios (CRs) across the country are struggling to eke out an existence due to lack of support.
However, what is ironic is that most of the money was spent on organising workshops, annual meet-ups, awareness programmes and other events, with little of the funds going directly to the community radios. Most CR experts have lamented such workshops, stating the funds could be better spent on improving the resources of the community radios.
For instance, a whopping Rs 45 lakh was invested on organising the Fifth National Sammelan of operational CRs in New Delhi. Similar amounts were used in organising other events, mostly held in the national capital.
According to latest data available with the I&B ministry, India is home to 179 operational CRs whereas Orissa hosts six community radio stations. Around 25 applications for commencement of CRs are pending with the ministry for permission. Experts from the state expressed displeasure over how the ministry is spending the money that is meant for community radio stations.
Talking to Orissa POST, city-based NA Shah Ansari, vice-president of the Community Radio Association of India, said the Centre is not interested in giving a boost to community radio.
“It is really unfortunate that the Central government is not bothered about the fate of community radio. Investing huge amounts only on workshops and meetings is sheer wastage of money. It clearly shows the intention of the Central government. It is not serious at all about giving proper encouragement to community radios.
Similar views were expressed by many experts involved in the production sector of community radios. Pradeep Kumar Dutta, director of Radio Kissan which operates in Balipatna, says urgent steps are needed to ensure CRs do not die a premature death.
“There are a number of NGOs running community radio stations. Unlike CRs owned and run by big private universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), NGO-owned CRs are often crippled for funds. Community radio being subscription-free, relies mostly on advertisements which the CRs do not get on a large scale as compared to commercial FM channels. This is why the government needs to support CRs,” he said.
Another expert from the radio industry, seeking anonymity, said a rebooting of the spending mechanism was the need of the hour. “The Centre must redefine the way it spends funds. Now, they are spending funds left and right without proper planning. For example, around Rs 30,000 is spent on a single CR station every year to get them to participate in an extravagant annual CR sammelan held every year in Delhi. The money could be better spent,” the expert said.
What is community radio?
After almost a decade-long campaign, the Central government in 2006 started a three-tier radio broadcasting system in India besides the existing public broadcaster AIR and private FM channels. The third tier was community radio, meant to serve the local community and assumed to be run by local people. It differs from other radio stations in terms of content and reach. Community radio stations have to follow certain guidelines, such as not playing film songs among others.
