PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information department has planned to cancel declarations of dummy publications publishing in the province or being distributed there.

A source in the department told Dawn that currently, there were more than 100 newspapers on the provincial media list, while the information department had also issued declarations of around 200 dailies, fortnightlies and monthlies.

He said after getting a declaration to print, a newspaper formally contacted the federal information ministry`s Audit Bureau of Circulation for issuance of a `standard per column centimeter rate` for the rate of the federal government advertisements.

He said a publication needed to be on the provincial media list toget official adverts.

The source said a committee consisting of information secretary, information director, deputy director (adverting), deputy director (press and publication), press registrar and a nominee of the finance department was tasked with reviewing those aspiring to be on the provincial media list.

He said dozens of dummy newspapers had made it to the provincial media list over the years for one reason or the other and thus, getting advertising revenue from federal and provincial governments.

The source said most such publications lacked any stall value, while others went into print only on the days when they received an advertisement from the government.

`Such newspapers actually publish 100-150 copies contrary to their ABC claims of 40,000-50,000 copies,` he said, adding that the ABC claims of circulation are mostly exaggerated.

The source said the scrutiny committee of the provincial directorate of information and public relations would decide about dummy newspapers.

He also said after the committeeformally declared such publications dummy, the number of those on the provincial media list would come down to around 20 from over 100.

`It`ll put an end to yellow journalism and `Xerox` newspapers,` he said.

The source said there were at least two printing presses in Peshawar, which usually published dummy newspapers.

He said in reality, both the presses couldn`t print 40,00050,000 copies in one whole night.

The source said the department was also mulling action against such printing presses as well.

A relevant government official also confirmed that the department was planning such an exercise.

He said publications had to meet certain conditions to be on the provincial media list.

`The newspaper should be regularly published; it publishing should be under the law; it must not be Xerox copy, its own office news agency service at its disposal and circulation,` he said.

The official said if a publication didn`t meet that criteria, then the scrutiny committee could remove it from the media list.`We want only genuine newspapers to receive government advertising money and bar dummy publications,` he said.

The official said the department had gatheredcirculationEguresfor newspapers published in the province as well as those published somewhere else and coming to the city.

He said in the first phase, the department would cancel declarations of newspapers, which didn`t publish on regular basis under the KP Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Act 2013.

`The declaration will be cancelled under Section 11(1) of the Act which states if a newspaper, in respect of which a declaration has been made under Section (6), is not published, at the frequency reflected therein, within three months of date on which such declarations is authenticated under Section (10), the declaration shall be void,` he said.

The official said the scrutiny committee was likely to meet soon and that most dummy publications would lose their declarations, while notices would be served on many others.