Haryana govt announces monthly honorarium scheme for senior artists, art scholars

Chandigarh [India], May 6 (ANI): The Haryana Government has decided to implement a new scheme titled "Pandit Lakhmi Chand Kalakar Samajik Samman Yojana".
The scheme aims to improve the financial and social-economic conditions of senior artists and art scholars who have made significant contributions to the field of art during their active lives or who are still contributing to the field but are no longer actively participating due to old age.
A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of the State Cabinet held under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister, Nayab Singh Saini on Monday.
Under the scheme, eligible artists will receive a monthly honorarium of Rs 10,000 as financial support from the Government.
Any resident of Haryana who has worked or contributed to the field of art for at least 20 years as an artist in areas such as singing, acting, dance, drama, painting, or other forms of visual arts will be eligible under the scheme.
Applications submitted during the years 2020-21 and 2021-22 (excluding the COVID-19 period) will be considered mandatory. Applicants must also submit supporting documents and press clippings along with their application, an official release stated.
The applicant should not be less than 60 years of age, as verified through the Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP). If the PPP reflects an annual income of up to Rs 1.80 lakh from all sources, the applicant will receive Rs 10,000 per month. For those with an annual income between Rs 1.80 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, a monthly honorarium of Rs 7,000 will be provided, the release said.
The prescribed application form for this scheme will be available on the website. Artists will have to apply online to avail of the honorarium.
After the preliminary scrutiny and verification of applications by the department, all eligible applications under this scheme will be presented before a special committee constituted by the department, it added.
The committee will evaluate the applications in accordance with the current guidelines of the scheme, taking into account both the financial condition and the artistic contributions of the applicants. The final list of beneficiaries eligible for the honorarium will be prepared by the committee solely on the basis of merit. (ANI)