BHUBANESWAR: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued show cause notices to 18 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in the State for failing to set up community radio stations on their premises despite receiving the letter of intent (LOI). In 2016, the State Government had decided to set up these stations so that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik could address the rural population. The Ministry has now warned of cancelling the LOIs awarded to the KVKs.
The proposed stations were part of Odisha Government’s vision to launch ‘Biju Gaon Radio’. It was decided at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that he would speak to farmers and rural people for 10 minutes through ‘Apananka Pain (For You)’ programme via the radio set-ups at 32 Krishi Vigyan Kendras.
The State Government had then decided to fund the setting up of the radio stations. The proposed programme would have disseminated information to the farmers especially on agriculture, cooperative, irrigation, health, education and disaster management. However, the radio stations never came up at 18 locations as cited by the Information Ministry. Similar notice has also been served to 15 other private organisations and Central University of Orissa.
According to the notice, organisations were required to apply with requisite fee to the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing of the Ministry of Communication and IT for allocation of frequency and other clearances. It further warned that the LOIs were liable to be cancelled as no communication was received from the organisations concerned so far.