New Delhi, Feb. 23: Stung by the threat to disrupt Doordarshan and All India Radio services at a crucial time before the elections, the information and broadcasting ministry is going all out to redress some of the grievances of Indian Information Service officials.

Information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had on Friday instructed Pawan Chopra, secretary in the ministry, to prepare a blueprint on how best to address the grievances. The secretary’s recommendations will have to be approved by the minister and get the sanction of several ministries before it can be announced.

“Independent of the recommendations of the task force which will submit its report after two months, I have instructed the secretary, information and broadcasting, to look into the problems faced by the IIS cadre and suggest steps to halt the stagnation in service,” Prasad said.

The emphasis is on promotions and filling of vacancies within the service, as well as improvement in pay scales of all grades.

The ministry is trying to make sure there is some semblance of parity in pay scales between the IIS cadre, who have been stuck in a groove, and those in other services like customs or post and telegraph, who have all moved forward.

The ministry has also asked Prasar Bharati to state the manpower it will need in the next five years. Once this is fixed, the ministry will be in a better position to plan.

From Wednesday, IIS officers are scheduled to sit on a dharna without disrupting services. Later, if the government does not heed their demands, the plan is to disrupt work in both Doordarshan and AIR.

As of now, their plan holds, though the agitation might be withdrawn once the IIS officials are convinced that the government is sincere and will keep its promises.

Last week, when the IIS went to the minister with a memorandum highlighting its problems, Prasad promised to set up a task force to review the problems of the officers. The officers are disgruntled over the influx of “outsiders” into Doordarshan and plans to revamp the AIR with a dose of fresh blood from outside. The IIS wants to make sure that all the plum postings are not given out to outsiders.

Since Prasar Bharati began its 24-hour news channel by drafting professionals from private channels, the IIS cadre have been demoralised. They had long been asking successive ministers to consider their plight but had not received much of a response.

With elections round the corner, the IIS officers felt this was the best time to pitch for their demands. The ploy has obviously worked.