New Delhi : The information and broadcasting ministry in its letter dated 10th October addressed to all chief secretaries of state and UT governments, has requested the state governments to extend necessary support to the Cable operator in assuring the “Right to Way” as per the Sec 4B of Cable TV network (Regulations) Amendment Act 2011, which entitles the Cable operators to lay their cables and erect the posts etc. It also instructed the chief secretaries to notify their field officer to extend necessary co-operation and marl a copy of the same to MIB for their reference and attached the annexure with Sec 48 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act 2011 regarding Right of Way (RoW) which reads as following :
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, any cable operator entitled for providing cable seNices may from time to time lay and establish cables and erect posts under, over, along, across, in or upon any immovable property vested in or under the control or management of a public authority.
(2) Any public authority under whose control or management any immovable property is vested may, on receipt of a request from a cable operator, permit the cable operator to do all or any of the following acts, namely:-
a) to place and maintain underground cables or posts; and
b) to enter on the property, from time to time, in order to place, examine, repair, after or remove such cables or posts.
(3) The facility of right of way under this section for laying underground cables, and erecting posts, shall be available to all cable operators subject to the obligation of reinstatement or restoration of the property or payment of reinstatement or restoration charges in respect thereof at the option of the public authority.
(4) When the public authority, in public interest considers it necessary and expedient that the underground cable or post placed by any cable operator under the provisions of this section, should be removed or shifted or its position altered, it may require the cable operator to remove it or shift it or alter its position, as the case may be, at its own cost in the time frame indicated by public authority.
(5) The Central Government may lay down appropriate guidelines to enable the State Governments to put in place an appropriate mechanism for speedy clearance of requests from cable operators for laying cables or erecting posts on any property vested in, or under the control or management of, any public authority and for settlement of disputes, including refusal of permission by the public authority
(6) Any permission granted by a public authority under this section may be given subject to such reasonable conditions as that public authority thinks fit to impose as to the payment of any expenses, or time or mode of execution of any work, or as to any other matter connected with or related to any work undertaken by the cable operator in exercise of those rights.
(7) Nothing in this section shall confer any right upon any cable operator other than that of user for the purpose only of laying underground cable or erecting posts or maintaining them.
The notification from centre is a great relief for Cable Operators as they don’t have a prescribed method of cable laying practice in Metros and public authority buildings that often puts them in a fix against the civic bodies, whenever they go on a cleanliness drive and chop off the unauthorised cable lines.
