After the company (a franchisee of Zee TV) received permission for road-cuts, it dug more than 200 pits at 400-metre intervals, each pit six cubic feet in size and concrete roofed. If normal ground rents were charged, the amount due would run into several lakhs.

Why did the administration grant the private company permission to lay underground cable when the overhead cables were functioning successfully? Was any public notice issued in connection with the project. The administration has yet to clarify its position.

According to Rajnish Khanna, proprietor of United Cable and Siti Cable partner, his company deposited Rs 50,000 towards ground rent with the MC in June, 1996. "Since the administration had no policy on the ground rent when the permission was granted, the question of charging fee retrospectively does not arise," he said. Khanna claimed that six other networks have been doing brisk business, both in Chandigarh and Manimajra, without paying ground rent.

The Chandigarh Administration granted permission to Siti Cable to lay cable in October, 1995, but laid down no policy on the ground rent to be charged for the use of public land. Now after four years, the fund-starved Corporation has awakened and framed a policy to levy charges from companies laying underground cable. The 29-member House is expected to approve the policy but the Corporation is undecided over the recovery of arrears. A senior MC official said it will depend on the approval of the House.

As per the guidelines framed, multi-system operators (MSOs) such as Siti Cable and C-Con will have to deposit Rs 5 lakh in cash as security, and Rs 5 lakh in the shape of a bank guarantee for 10 years. Out of Rs 5 lakh in cash, Rs 3 lakh will be refunded to the applicant on completion of laying of cable and Rs 2 lakh will be kept as security for future damage, if any, and can be refunded after five years. The committee has fixed a monthly ground rent of Rs 1 lakh to be charged from all MSOs and Rs 12,000 per year for small sector operators except those operating in Sector 1 to 6 where the fee would be Rs 6,000 a year per cable operator.

The MC House, at its meeting held on September 16, could not take up the issue and deferred it to next meeting likely to be held in the first week of October.