The artists community protesting over the adoption of Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG), have now punched holes in the government’s defence that the adoption was necessitated because of shortage of funds.
A paper written by Sridhar Gowda and Rashmi Munikempanna, members of VAG Forum, has now claimed that the Department of Museum and Archaeology, left Rs. 20.21 crore unspent in the 2014-15 fiscal, as per the Annual Report of the department and CAG report of 2016. While Rs. 65.87 crore was allotted to the department, it managed to spend only Rs. 43.80 crore, of which only Rs. 40.63 lakh was spent on VAG.
“The adoption MoU promises to raise funds up to Rs. 10 crore. But the department that controls VAG, has Rs. 20.21 crore unspent in 2014-15,” said Sridhar Gowda adding that the government’s argument of shortage funds was a myth. “It is a matter of priorities. The same department has spent Rs. 80 lakh on Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Dharmothana Trust, double of what it spent on VAG the same year,” he said.
Officials from the Department of Museum and Archaeology were unavailable for comment. VAG Forum is now demanding that the government take up development of VAG as a priority and allocate sufficient.
Online petition gathers response
An online petition on change.org addressed to chief minister Siddaramaiah seeking cancellation of the MoU with Tasveer Foundation for adoption of VAG, has been signed by nearly 1,000 people, in the five days since it was started. It also demands that the State allocate sufficient funds to infuse new life into VAG, in consultation with the artist community.
