Government relief to cable networks, scraps per screen fee

LUCKNOW: In a big relief to local cable channels, the government has removed the fee of Rs 100 per television screen that it was imposing on cable networks.
The state cabinet on Wednesday revised the licence fee from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 while doing away with the per screen charge. “Operators used to charge the fee from channels and this was not financially viable for small, local channels.Now the per screen fee has been removed which will be a huge relief for the local channels,” said an official.
The cabinet also cleared the draft of the UP Homeguard Services (Sixth Amendment) Rules, 2020. Under this, eligibility criteria will be set for the promotion of the district commandant and divisional commandant.
The cabinet has revised the proposed expenditure for extending the two-lane Palia-Lucknow Marg in Hardoi district to four lanes.
For implementation of the common service centres-3 scheme, the cabinet approved of a ‘request for proposal’ for selection of a district service provider. The selection will be conducted through an open tender for a period of three years.
A policy for selection of a principal or teacher of a secondary education department under the State Teacher Award has also been cleared. Due to Covid-19, applications for 2020-2021 can be made from July 15-30.
The government has also provided relief to people for payment of dues under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1997. It has extended the deadline for payments to one month after the notification is issued and no penalty will be imposed in this duration.
In Noida and Lucknow, the police commissioner will now head the committee which will decide allocation of gunners, guards and shadows
The cabinet has cleared proposals for setting up a state college in Hastinapur under Meerut district and in Agra Cantt. Land for the colleges will be provided free of cost to the higher education department for these projects. The government will also be setting up a Savitribai Phule girls’ hostel at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow.