With state governments delaying constitution of panels to check content on cable, the government has seemingly been unable to effectively stop local broadcast and telecast of unauthorised channels from across border. Several states, including Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, are yet to constitute state-level monitoring committees to check broadcast of cable television content and stop unauthorised channels.
The state-level monitoring committees are broadbased and consist of not only state administration and the police but also members from the civil society, such as principal of a woman’s college, representatives of NGOs working in the area, academicians, psychologists and sociologists etc.
A majority of the defaulting states are currently facing active insurgency and Maoist extremist trouble or have faced such trouble in the recent past.
The un-monitored broadcast of channels continues despite repeated apprehension expressed by various government ministries and members of Parliament. Sources stated that the decision to constitute these committees was taken after complaints regarding broadcast of unauthorised channels in parts of the country, especially border and extremist-affected areas. Several states are yet to constitute these state-level committees mandated under the Cable TV Netwo-rks Regulation Act 1995.