Cable operators to be granted licences

Mumbai Suburban District Collector, Shekhar Channe, has said that cable operators across the city will soon be granted licences that will enable them properly register their businesses.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena e General Secretary, Shalini Thackeray, told reporters after meeting Mr Channe at his Bandra office: “Today, more than 2,500 cable operators in Mumbai are in queue for seeking the ‘4/2/B’ license. This has led to an inability to receive legal certificates for their businesses.

After fighting a prolonged battle for many years, the cable operators had recently approached us, seeking justice.”

“Unable to procure a proper licence, most of these cable operators have failed to secure legal status for their businesses. This has further led to a lot of difficulties, creating hindrance in their professional growth process,” she said.

She added that failure to allocate proper licences to cable operators has resulted in heavy losses to the state exchequer and it is thus imperative to grant them proper licences.

Meanwhile, Mr Channe has asked cable operators to apply for a ‘4/2/B’ licence and assured them that these licences will be issued within a specific time frame. According to instructions by the Maharashtra government on March 2014, cable operators and multisystem operators (MSOs) should together present an affidavit concerning entertainment tax in order to renew their licences. “This was perceived as a case of mistrust against cable operators that had affected their process and the government had failed to collect the necessary tax,” said Ms Thackeray. “Cable operators should provide an independent affidavit along with a receipt of the amount being deposited with the MSO,” Mr Channe said.