Broadcasting Commission unlikely to be formed soon:Daily Sun

  Though the National Broadcasting Policy got the cabinet approval, there is no possibility of forming an independent broadcasting commission within six months. At least six months will be spent on the tasks of law enactment, manpower appointment and official setup. The gazette approved on Monday is going to be published within a short period of time. After publishing it, a meeting will be held wi
th the participators for enactment of law of the commission, according to information revealed by officials of the Information Ministry. A number of officials said a committee will be formed after the gazette is published. Apart from the participators, a meeting will be called for the others concerned, a Kalerkantho report said. Wishing anonymity, officials said the Broadcasting Commission is being conducted under law in many countries, including the United Kingdom. They said time was spent during the formation of the Information Commission in case of various tasks, including manpower employment. So, the Broadcasting Commission would not be formed just after saying. When asked, joint-secretary (Broadcast) of the Information Ministry Md Abul Hossain said, “It is hoped that the gazette will be publicised by Thursday (today). I do not want to comment on how much time would be spent to enact the law after the publishing of the gazette.” General Secretary of the Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO) Shykh Siraj said, “We will be happy if the task of forming the independent broadcasting commission gets pace. We want it that the mass media can play the same role as it played in the past. A search committee is needed for the formation of commission within the quickest possible time. The primary work on formulation of the National Broadcasting Policy started in November 2012. The first meeting was held in November 11 the same year. Opinions and recommendations were taken from private TV channels and other broadcasting organisations for formulation of the policy. The ATCO proposed adding nine recommendations to the policy in October 2013. Six of them were fully accepted while the rest were partially accepted, sources at the ministry said. The recommenders put an emphasis on forming a free and impartial broadcasting commission as the government may delay the formulation of the commission on excuse of different procedures. They also stressed inclusion of respected and trustworthy persons and non-inclusion of any party person in the commission. The Information Ministry will have the full control if the commission is not formed. Otherwise the government will use the policy as political tool. Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, chief editor and chief executive officer Boishakhi Television, said it is not clear when and with whom the commission will be formed. If we want to form the commission early we have to find appropriate persons as soon as possible. The commission will be a constitutional organisation. According to the broadcasting policy, a commission will be formed based on law. The commission will make recommendations for providing licenses for broadcasting. The commission will make settlement of complaints made by general people against the quality of broadcasted programmes, information and advertisements. The chairman and other members of the commission will be elected by the search committee and appointed by the President.