The Tamil Nadu Magazine Publishers Association has written to the Chief Minister appealing for payment of dues to public libraries.
The members said that repeated requests to various departments resulted in the government providing ₹21 crore. But this was not enough to run the libraries, they added.
“We come under the School Education Department. There are around 4,600 public libraries and the funds to run libraries must come from the Local Administration Department. A portion of the revenue tax collected is allocated to run libraries. Since 2018, this amount has been pending and now it amounts to ₹351 crore,” said R. Sakthivel, president of the association.
The Chennai Corporation owes the District Library office a sum of ₹150 crore. This amount has to be distributed among the libraries in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram.
“It was only after meeting the officials of six departments that the government released ₹21 crore. The public libraries have opened up but there are no publications for patrons to read. Together, libraries purchase around 150 publications, including 20 dailes, 30 weeklies and 40 monthlies,” he said.
The association had made several representations about the pending amount after which a new director was appointed. The official is yet to take charge. Meanwhile, the association is awaiting response from the Local Administration Department about the allocation pending for libraries, Mr. Sakthivel said.
