Chennai: Describing the Conditional Access System (CAS) as "customer friendly", the Centre on September 12 told the Madras High Court that besides putting the choice of viewing TV Channels in the hands of viewers it was also expected to bring in consumer friendly rates.

In a counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the PIB's Additional Principal Officer T G Nallamuthu said multi-system operators (MSOs) were also expected to declare the rates of all pay channels and the various schemes offering set-top boxes (STBs).

The monthly rate payable by viewers would not be subject to arbitrary increase, the affidavit said in response to three petitions against the introduction of CAS in Chennai.

Stating that the Centre had also notified introduction of CAS in the metropolitan areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, the affidavit pointed out that the authorities concerned had expressed apprehensions over implementation of CAS in Mumbai and Kolkata due to pre-occupation with the administration of law and order.

While CAS was not introduced in the capital as the Delhi administration apprehended trouble in view of the ensuing Assembly polls and also keeping in mind that officials would be overstretched with maintaining law and order, Tamil Nadu government had not expressed any reservation in implementing CAS in the state, the counter affidavit said.

PTI