Minister moots coordination panel for smooth functioning of academies

Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi on Friday said that the state government will constitute a high-power advisory committee to ensure coordination among the state-run academies and authorities. 

As many as 14 academies and four authorities such as Border Development Authority, Kannada Development Authority, Kannada Book Authority and Kuvempu Bhashabharati Authority, function under the aegis of the Kannada and Culture department. 

After meeting the newly appointed chairpersons and members of the academies and four authorities, Tangadagi said: “The state government is contemplating whether to have a chief of an academy/authority as head of the coordination committee or appoint a minister as its chairman. Once this is sorted out, the coordination committee will be announced.” 

The minister said that there was no dearth of funds to take up any development activity in the academies. “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has released a Rs 10 crore grant for the smooth functioning of these state-run bodies. The government is keen to infuse more dynamism into the functioning of these bodies and hence the chairpersons of the academies were told to submit the action plan in order to seek more funds as well as to launch more programmes in the days to come,” he said.

The minister added that he would hold review meetings of at least two academies every month.

The minister asserted that the state government is committed to hold Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in Mandya and the dates for lit fest will be announced after consulting the chief minister in this regard.

Defending Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC chief D K Shivakumar holding meeting of academy heads at the Congress party office, Tangadagi said there was no need to attach importance to the meeting