Non-availability of land, adequate funds main reasons
JKAACL says Culture Policy to take care of all issues
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 8: Announced over a year back, Culture Centres have yet not come up in different districts of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir mainly because of non-availability of suitable land and adequate funds. However, the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages claimed that once the Culture Policy is approved by the Government all the issues will be taken care of.
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On March 13, 2023, it was officially announced that Culture Centres will be established at Bandipora, Shopian, Anantnag, Kishtwar, Udhampur, Kathua, Jammu and Poonch districts of the Union Territory. However, even after the lapse of more than a year such a centre has not come up in any of these districts, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
“Neither suitable land has been made available by the administration of concerned district nor sufficient funds are available for this task”, they further said while disclosing that in Kathua district where the land was available the building is being constructed but against requirement of Rs 4 crore less than Rs 50 lakh have been made available till date and in such a situation when the Culture Centre at Kathua will be completed cannot be specified.
In Kishtwar, the land which was identified by the district administration for Culture Centre is not suitable as per the opinion of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages as there are certain issues with regard to approach road etc, sources further said while disclosing that as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR) an amount of Rs 33 crore is required for the construction of Culture Centre in Kishtwar but no provision for the same has been made till date.
Likewise, no land has so far been identified or made available for the Culture Centre by the administration in Udhampur district. Similar is the situation with regard to Culture Centres in different districts of Kashmir valley, sources informed.
When contacted, Principal Secretary, Department of Culture, Suresh Kumar Gupta said that the Culture Centre at Kathua once completed will be a model for other districts of Jammu as well as Kashmir, adding “we are trying to resolve the issues impeding the start of work in other areas”.
When approached, an officer of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, while wishing anonymity, said, “it is a fact that non-availability of suitable land and lack of adequate funds are responsible for delay in construction of Culture Centres in different districts of the Union Territory”.
He, however, claimed that Culture Policy has been prepared and will shortly be approved by the Government. “All the issues will be taken care of in the policy and hopefully there will not be further delay in identification of land and start of construction work for the Culture Centres”, he added.
In response to a question about upgradation of Abhinav Threatre at Jammu, the officer said, “I think entire work will be completed within another one or two month”.
As per the art connoisseurs of Jammu and Kashmir, Culture Centres once established will give huge fillip to art and culture of Union Territory. “J&K is a culturally diversified UT with people of different races, cultures and faiths living in three different climatic zones. The J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages which has been entrusted with the responsibility to promote art, culture and languages is not in a position to cater the needs of all the cultural groups of the UT due to its limited horizon”, they said.
“All the issues impeding the construction of Culture Centres should be resolved at the earliest so that art, culture and languages of Jammu and Kashmir get promoted at the required level”, they added.
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