GUWAHATI, April 4 — Hit hard by severe fund crunch and sheer apathy of the State Government, the Jyoti Chitraban Film and Televsion Institute, the only AICTE — approved institute in the North-East providing theoretical and practical training in all aspects of film and televsion programmes production, is today gasping for breath. Set up in 1999 by the Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio Society, the institute has been rendering yeoman’s service for all those aspiring youths who want to make a career in film and video programme production, besides meeting to a great extent the perennial shortage of technical personnel in the field in the region. All the passouts from the institute are now either engaged in reputed production houses or are doing their own business.
All this makes a strong case for the institute to get more and more support from the State Government whose top priority, by its own admission, is to promote technical education and generate self-employment. But in practice, the Government has been actually reducing its yearly grants to the Society from the initial Rs 10 lakh (1990-94) to Rs 5.5 lakh (97-98) to Rs 3.5 lakh (99-2000). And to make matters worse, it did not release single paise in the last financial year, making it difficult to meet the day-to-day expenditures of the institute.
Jyoti Chitraban Society Secretary Dr Rajbongshi said the early requirement of the society is Rs 90 lakh, of which around Rs 30 lakh comes from revenue collected from hiring charges of the studio and equipment and another Rs 30 lakh from the surcharge on amusement tax on cinema tickets. “For the rest, we are dependent on the Government which is, unfortunately, not providing us with the desired amounts,” he said. Shortage of fund has seriously affected the upkeep and maintenance of the institute besides the morale of the employees who are not getting salary for several months. The institute is equipped with the most modern and sophisticated sound-recording machinery that require precise maintenance under specified temperatures. But some problems with the air-conditioner for the past few months is posing a threat to the utility and life-span of the machinery.
The library, a vital component of the institute, wears a pathetic look as it is devoid of the latest technical journals that are a must to keep the students updated with the rapid technological advancements taking place in the field. A scientific archive is another immediate need of the institute the absence of which is making the preservation of rare prints of old films very difficult.
Aggrieved at the prevailing conditions in the institute, the employees are now calling for a restoration of the pre-1973 status when the studio was run by the Education Department. “Although it is a full-fledged technical institute, the Government has not spent anything for it. It is turning out to be a burden on the Society,” they said. It may be mentioned that the first two phases of the Rs 8.795 crore Project for Modernisation and Development of Jyoti Chitraban funded by the Centre were implemented and the utilisation certificate submitted to the Centre in 2001. The State Government also submitted a Rs 9.973 crore proposal for the third phase to the Centre in March 2001 and the sanction of the same is awaited.
In view of the new challenges brought to the film and television industry by various developments such as the IT revolution, advent of latest technologies, the satellite invasion, etc. and also because of the tremendous scope the industry has in the North-East, it is high time the Government accorded top priority to this premier institute so that it survives and prospers, concerned circles feel.