Doordarshan gets go-ahead for 2010 Commonwealth Games HDTV telecast

On July 30, 2009, the Union Cabinet given the go-ahead to allow Doordarshan to telecast the 2010 Commonwealth Games in high definition Television (HDTV) format. The cabinet has approved a Rs 1.65 billion budget in the 11th plan allocation of Prasar Bharati, for the upgrade to HDTV.

With the funding, Doordarshan will be able to upgrade its infrastructure in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai to telecast the Commonwealth Games in HDTV format.

indiatelevision.com has reported that the requisite equipment will have to be imported at a cost of around Rs 1.6 billion. The remaining Rs 50 million has been earmarked for recurring expenditure for project implementation and spectrum charges.

Reports say that the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) ministry has shortlisted five broadcasters, namely, Tokyo Broadcasting, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, USA’s International Sports Broadcasting and International Games Broadcast Services.

As of now Prasar Bharati’s transmitters are largely on analog mode. The HDTV format will enable Prasar Bharati to provide superior picture and sound quality to viewers. Though, viewers will need HDTV-enabled TVs or a set-top box to view the programming in HDTV.

Meanwhile, in other news about the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Supreme Court of India overturned a Delhi High Court ruling that required the setting up of a committee to monitor the construction at the Commonwealth Games Village (CGV) in Delhi.

As per the Supreme Court judgment, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) can now continue to build the CGV.

“Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and other authorities are free to proceed with the work at the CWG village site,” the Supreme Court said.

The High Court ruling had come after a petition was made that the construction of the CGV would have an adverse effect on the ecology of the Yamuna river bed that would lead to the changing of the river’s course causing flooding.

The High Court then gave the directive that a committe should be set up to ascertain whether the CGV site complex was, in fact, being built on the Yamuna riverbed or flood plain.

The DDA appealed to the Supreme Court against the ruling saying that the project had received environmental clearances including that from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).

The DDA also pointed out that that the Akshardham Temple was built 1.7 km away from the Yamuna river bed and that the CGV site was situated 1.2 kms away from the river bed.

It also said that the stalling of the project just some time away from the 2010 Commonwealth games would jeopardize its sovereign guarantee for holding the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The government has already pumped in Rs 2,000 into the project, and is already behind schedule.

The Supreme Court accepted this and said the construction site of the CGV site was adjacent to that of the Akshardham Temple complex, and therefore the same considerations should be applied to the building of the CGV.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan upheld the appeal and said the observation and conclusion of the High Court was unsustainable.

“The decision of the expert and autonomous body, NEERI, supported by materials placed by other bodies such as Central Water Power Research Station and the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF), the same cannot be lightly interfered with by the court without adequate contra material,” Justice Sathasivam, the author of the judgment, said.

The bench also held that the High Court had not taken into consideration of experts and scientific organisations that have categorically maintained that the CGV site is not located on a riverbed or a flood plain.

The Supreme Court also said that the High Court should not have entertained the PIL since it was file in 2007, eight years after the land was alloted in 1999.

The apex court also set aside the committee that was put together by the High Court to examine the construction of the CGV from an ecological vantage point.

Meanwhile, a special commissioner of police was appointed by the government, for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, on July 28, 2009.

The new commissioner of police, Ajay Chadha, was transferred from Arunachal Pradesh where he was Director General of Police.

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