Airwaves are public property: Jaitley

New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Airwaves are public property and the myth that they are the monopoly of the state has been broken, Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday.

Inaugurating the 5th National Community Radio Sammelan here, Jaitley said that the right to free speech does not belong to a broadcaster alone but also to the listener as he has a right to information and facts.

He said that idea of community radio should expand.

The minister said that there was a feeling two decades ago that airwaves were a monopoly of the state.

"That myth was broken. Airwaves are public property," he said.

Jaitley released a compendium containing inspiring stories of community radios from all over the country.

Bimal Julka, secretary of information and broadcasting ministry, said that the government had so far issued 409 permissions to set up community radio stations in the country, of which 179 stations have become operational and others were in the pipeline.

"(There should be) 600 community radio stations by the end of 12th plan," Julka said.

He said community radio movement was going to go viral.

The three-day workshop at Vigyan Bhavan here brings together operators, policy makers, UN agencies and other stakeholders for exchange of ideas and cross learning.

During the conference, talks will be held on community radio movement in the country and its role in setting the agenda for discourse on development at the local level.

The information and broadcasting ministry has been organising the National Community Radio Sammelan anually since 2011.