PTV earns Rs 570 million from TV licence fee
ISLAMABAD (APP)- Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Omer Ayub Friday informed the National Assembly that 0f counterfeit, tampered and forged currency notes are not accepted by the State Bank of Pakistan or other internationalised banks.
Replaying to a question of Chaudhry Shahid Akram Bhinder the Parliamentary Secretary for Finance said those defaced currency notes aye not accepted by State Bank and other nationalised banks, which fall under the “Note Refund Regulation 1963″and other legal Tender (Inscribed Notes) Ordinance 1977
He explained that such notes are not treated as legal tender and are Categorised as “Counterfeit/ tampered /Forged Bank Note’. Omar Ayub further informed the National Assembly that these notes are not a legal tender, and possession or holding of these notes are illegal and a crime.
He said such notes are retained (impounded) and destroyed by the State Bank of Pakistan. The banks are not supposed to keep such notes in their balance, he added.
Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Omer Ayub informed the National Assembly that government has taken a number of steps to alleviate the, poverty with increasing job opportunities and promoting industrialisation in the country.
Responding to an Adjournment Motion moved by Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Alam Anwar about the report of State Bank of Pakistan that the poverty)’ level has raised from 22 to 33 per cent, the Parliamentary Secretary for Finance said this has been increased in last 15 years.
Omer Ayub said according to the Survey of Pakistan presented in the National Assembly this year; it has already been clarified that the increase in poverty in the last few years was due to drought, which affected 64 per cent population living in the rural areas.
He said poverty figures have been stabilised in’ the last four years due to effective measures taken by President General Pervez Musharraf which were continued by the government of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. Omer Ayub said there has been marginal decline in Poverty rate during the last Four years but added that there are still a long way to go to reduce poverty.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed informed the National Assembly that PTV for the first time has auctioned the collection of PTV Licence fee against Rs. 570 million. In response to a ailing attention notice of Mrs Mehnaz Rafi, he said, PTY has no plan to do away with the collection of Licence fee as it has recently auctioned its collection thus helped earning of Rs. 570 million and this Rs. 700 million in days to come.
Various contracts to different companies have been auctioned in different parts of the country and the amount recovered of this auction would help inject the economically non-viable PTV, he said.
Sheikh Rashid said, PTV being the state owned corporation has lot of liabilities as far as the perks to its employees so it is essential to generate financial resources to make this economically viable.
The Minister said the PTV is planning to start two new channels – PTV Home and PTV AJK – and for the purpose it would not be provided any fresh allocation by the government . PTV would manage the launch of this project from its own existing resources, he added.
Earlier, during the question hour, the Minister in response to a supplementary by MNA Sher Akbar said that no fresh appointment in PTV is being carried out while whenever, the appointment against the vacancies were made would be carried out according to the provincial quota.
However, he said, the employment on contractual basis bias been offered at a smaller level but it doesn’t require observance of any quota. He said that PTV has engaged 589 Resource Persons so far against the sanctioned vacant posts according to merit on contract basis. Since the Resource Persons engaged on purely temporary basis to meet pressing operational recruit merit, provincial quota is not taken in to account.
To another supplementary, he said, the Prime Time is being run by PTV and all the recorded programmes the being telecast through it.
To another supplementary, Minister for Information said that present government attaches priority to the rights of minority and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali personally visited the church on the eve of X-mas. He said, on The days of minorities PTV telecast special programmes.
In reply to question by Ch.Anwar All Cheema, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said, the result of exam for the posts of AAO and APO in PTV are in the process of compilation and would be announced in the due course.
Source: The Nation
Date:11/8/2003
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