The Srividya Charitable Society, formed in memory of the late actress by friends to carry out her last wish to set up a dance and music school using the proceeds from the sale of her property, has decided to hand over its assets to the State government.
Addressing reporters here, the society chairman and cine actor K B Ganesh Kumar MLA, said the decision was taken in view of allegations from certain quarters against the functioning of the society.
He said Ms. Srividya’s assets had been entangled in financial issues with the Income Tax department. For safeguarding the assets worth lakhs of rupees, the government should take the initiative to settle the issues with her debtors and the Income Tax department.
The society had taken a decision to hand over the assets to the State government’s Culture Department and wanted the latter to use the proceeds from their sale to institute an endowment to promote art and culture in her memory.
Two months before her death on October 10, 2006, Ms. Srividya had executed a will and entrusted Mr. Ganesh Kumar, cine actor and MLA, to register a charitable society to ‘start a music and dance school for efficient students who could not get ample opportunities due to lack of money or to give away scholarship to such students to continue their studies and to extend financial assistance to deserving ailing artistes.’
“I am bequeathing all my properties except some payments mentioned elsewhere in this bill. An appropriate body with eminent persons, registered under Charitable Societies Act should be formed and the realised value of all my assets should be transferred as a nucleus fund,” she said in the will entrusting Mr. Ganesh Kumar to register the society.
She had also left Rs 5 lakh each to her brother’s children and Rs One lakh each to her servants in the will, executed on August 17, 2006.
