The ongoing celebration of Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary has put the cash strapped state government’s department of culture in a piquant situation. The chief minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that her government would observe this big event by organizing several events throughout the state.
Accordingly, she has also formed an advisory committee consisting of noted artists and people from cultural world. The committee led by Saoli Mitra, a noted stage personality, recently submitted a proposal to the state government which was summarily rejected by the chief minister for want of fund.
The committee proposed that the government should allocate Rupees One lakh each to all the districts and Rs 50,000 each to all subdivisions to observe Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary in a befitting manner. They proposed that a total sum of Rs 62 lakh be allocated for this purpose.
The secretary of department of culture forwarded the proposal to Mamata Banerjee as she is also in charge of the culture department. What infuriated Mamata was that the committee instead of giving suggestions to her has gone straight to the secretary of culture and submitted the proposal. Finally, she struck down the entire proposal and allotted Rs 4000 each for each of the subdivisions, though the government is yet to release the fund. Incidentally, the department’s annual budget for meeting expenses of all ceremonies is Rs 30 lakh only. Already, the department has incurred an expenditure of Rs 28 lakh for organizing an award giving ceremony (the newly instituted Bangabibhushan puraskar).