GUWAHATI, Oct 12 - The Producers� Council, an association of film and TV producers, has alleged that the proposed criteria for selection of empanelment of agencies for publicity-related works under the Jal Jeevan Mission, Assam, will only encourage bigger firms and deprive locals.
The council recently sent a letter to the Chief Engineer, PHE-Water, Assam, cum Additional Mission Director of Jal Jeevan Mission, Assam, in this regard.
�In this pandemic, a crisis has arisen among the TV and film industry of Assam. Therefore, giving out work opportunities to the local creative agencies shall be helpful to strengthen the economic scenario of the local production houses as well as the agencies which comprise producers, directors, artists, technicians, etc,� the Council said in a statement.
�We urge the department to empanel a minimum set of qualified firms or agencies under the department for conducting all kinds of audiovisual works. Local artisans should get preference and it will help uplift the economic growth of the local creative agencies,� it added.
The council also requested the department to minimise the criteria for selection with the motive of maximum work generation with minimum criteria. This will further help support the lives of many local artisans in the respective field during this pandemic, the statement said.
The council sought modification in the criteria for selection for the benefit of local artisans. The agency said the earnest money should be reduced to Rs 25,000 from Rs 1 lakh. The amount has been fixed as earnest money deposit to be paid online in the e-procurement portal itself or in the form of bank guarantee pledged in favour of Chief Engineer, PHE-Water, Assam.
It further said that as not much work had been done in the field in Assam in the last five years, the minimum value of total work order should be Rs 5 lakh instead of Rs 1 crore. The proposed criteria for eligibility do not consider the individual work orders worth less than Rs 12 lakh. The applicant must have a minimum average annual turnover of Rs 10 lakh over the last three years instead of Rs 2 crore. Moreover, the evaluation matrix for the evaluation process should be at a minimum, it added.
