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| Info Deptt's new adv policy: Old wine in new bottle | | Officials mislead Governor | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 15: The new advertisement policy announced by the State Government is like the proverbial old wine in a new bottle. The people who seem to have devised it have ignored the basic factor which makes a newspaper popular i.e. circulation and its reach.
Jammu and Kashmir is perhaps the only State in the country which lacks a mechanism to check circulation of newspapers. As a result the newspapers which are hardly visible in the market get the Lion's share from the of Government advertisements.
"The newspapers which are not even visible in the market and hardly publish 1000 copies are getting the lion's share vis-a-vis Government advertisements. These newspapers are published from dingy offices with two or three computer systems being at place and negligible staff strength. Irony is that these newspapers get advertisements worth lakhs every month," lamented an official.
Irony is that the newspapers which have roped in professionals and have employed a battery of reporters, sub-editors, graphic designers and have their own printing units are provided a very small share of Government advertisements. " If a probe is ordered into distribution of the advertisements it can open a Pandora's box," said an insider.
"Even as Governor NN Vohra is trying his best to bring transparency and accountability in the administration, some bureaucrats, who enjoy political patronage, are shamelessly putting impediments and are not allowing the system to be put at place," said an official.
"These bureaucrats have vested interests, so they are not allowing the system to run efficiently," he added.
Referring to the new advertisement policy approved by the State Administrative Council in its decision under Government Order No: 09 - ID of 2016, dated 04 -03-2016, the official said, "The order replaces the earlier advertisement policy of 1996. The new advertisement policy has been formulated only to ensure justice with the newspapers which have wide circulations. But this policy is full of discrepancies and loopholes as there is no mechanism to check circulation of the newspapers. It appears that those who have formulated this policy have fooled the higher-ups."
According to the new policy, newspapers have been characterized into four categories to ensure that deserving newspapers get advertisement as per the guidelines and their circulations. But the problem is that there is no mechanism to check circulations of the newspapers. The bigger question is how would the Information Department check circulation of the newspapers? And what is yardstick for checking circulations of the newspapers?
Every owner of the newspaper would claim that his or her paper falls in the "A" category. This new advertisement policy is likely to open a Pandora's box, and it appears that it has been formulated only to give undue favour to some selective newspapers.
And importantly, there is no mention about how much advertisement space would be given to papers of different categories. The authorities have not fixed categories of the newspapers, which are already empanelled by the Information Department.
It is believed that no category has been fixed for the existing newspapers only to give undue benefits to some newspapers whose circulation is not more than 1000.
Insiders said, "A few officials during the past many years have been misleading the ruling class by asking them to act tough against the news papers which are anti-establishment and act as a mirror and side with the truth. Such newspapers have always been at the receiving end and have been victimized."
They said, "This time around officials, who used to mislead politicians in the past, are now busy in misleading the Governor that's why they have devised an ambiguous advertisement policy."
Credible sources in the Information Department said that this policy was formulated only to favour some selective newspapers as some officers of the Information Department are reaping benefits by favouring these newspapers. Still some newspapers with less than 1000 circulation are getting monthly advertisement worth Rs 10 lakh. "Mafia in the Information Department is releasing advertisement for some selective newspapers, depriving other newspapers," a newspaper owner said. "The officers at the helm of the affairs in the Information Department have reportedly told their subordinates to ignore Governor's order and the decision of the State Administrative Council. Formation of advertisement policies is a routine affair and it is up to Info officials to implement such decisions," he said.
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