Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister P K Laheri said the telecast would begin by March-end. Cable networks with a reach of more than 5,000 viewers will be used. Networks which have maximum reach in cities and district or taluka headquarters would be considered first, he said.

Asked about the government's priorities, Laheri said these would depend on the situation and the need of the departments. But departments which have more programmes of public interest will get priority. ``Cable networks would be an ideal medium for propagating policies like prohibition,'' Laheri pointed out.

Currently, the government is mainly dependent on the print media for publicity. It also uses Doordarshan for government news and some cable networks for highlighting its welfare plans ``free of cost'' on special occasions.

Laheri said an estimate of the expenditure on regular use of cable TV could be made after suggestions from all 20 departments were received, ``but it would be much less'' than the Rs 10 crore which the government annually spends on publicity in the print media. Allocation would be made to departments in the coming budget, he said.

The Information Department already has 15 productions ready for telecast. Of these, 13 will be released as spots. A documentary on the government's achievements will also be in the initial lot. To begin with, the government would use its own makeshift studio at Ahmedabad for production but later help could be taken from outside, Laheri said.

Some departments are enthusiastic about the government decision. ACS Food and Civil Supplies Vijay Ranchan said cable TV could be highly useful as its reach was much more than newspapers. N A Parmar, PRO at the office of the Director General of Police (DGP), said, ``It can do miracles for the police''. He cited the example of the popular TV serial `India's Most Wanted' which had helped the police arrest many criminals.

ACS Panchayat and Rural Development Ashok Narayan said they would highlight anti-poverty and watershed development schemes. ``Gokul Gram Yojana is one of our main programmes of public participation where we have a target of providing basic facilities to 3,600 villages,'' he said.

Laheri said operators would have to telecast ``daily or weekly programmes for one year''. They should have three years experience in journalism and possess legal documents of ownership or partnership, he said, adding that operators who receive satellite transmission and divert it straightaway to the viewers would not be considered.

But dealing with cable operators is not going to be easy. Gujarat has four major cable networks -- Skynet, IN Cable, Siti Cable and Prime Cable -- and there is no regulation governing their operations. Also, turf wars between cable operators are common, with territories frequently passing from one operator to another. Skynet in-charge Ajay Singh, while appreciating the government move, said that despite a wide network of 3.25 lakh connections in Ahmedabad, the cable operators declared only 50,000 connectivity. Besides, most of the operators did not have licences. ``How will the government decide the reach and superiority of a network?'' he wanted to know.