Dhaka, May 23:

Bangladesh’s emergency government has tightened its grip on satellite television, asking cable operators to relay only 41 channels that pay taxes and show decent content, officials said today.

The government has approved 12 local and 29 foreign satellite channels for transmission in Bangladesh, according to a statement from the information minister.

“The government has decided to take legal action (against cable operators) if any unapproved channels are transmitted in the country,” the circular said.

A senior government official said only the television channels that pay taxes to the government and show “decent content” had been approved.

“For years many satellite television channels were transmitting in the country without any registration. They never paid any taxes,” a senior information ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

“So the government approved those channels that are registered with the ministry and pay taxes. If a new channel gets government registration and pays taxes, we will obviously approve its transmission,” he said.

But the government also banned ten satellite channels — including AXN, Channel V, Ren Tv, and Fashion TV — for showing indecent content.

“The decision was taken after a government committee found that these channels show programmes, some of which contain indecent content,” he said.

Bangladesh’s military-backed emergency government came to power in January after the country’s president imposed a state of emergency and cancelled polls following months of political turmoil.

The government, led by former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed, has vowed to clean up politics and tackle widespread corruption before elections are held in late 2008.