PANAJI
Speaking to The Goan, Lourenço said that the functioning of the Akademi was crippled due to lack of government support.
“The term of the committee is of three years and over the last two years of being at the helm the government has given us an approved grant of only Rs 95 lakh against a promised Rs 2.10 crore and Rs 90 lakh as against a promised grant of more than Rs 2.3 crore for each of the two years,” Lourenço said.
The Goa Konkani Akademi receives a ‘pattern of assistance’ from the Government of Goa through the Department of Official Language. Each year the Akademi prepares its budget and submits to the government with a plan both for running as well as for organising programmes, research funding, etc.
“Over the last two years we have received less than half the annual budget and as a result of which the programmes of the Akademi like that of sammelans, youth festivals, and other annual activities have been curtailed. In protest against the government’s indifference and apathy we have resigned,” Lourenço said.
Earlier the members Sanjeev Verenkar and Kanta Gaude had resigned as members of the executive committee on similar grounds. The members claim that the government sanctioned amounts barely help run the Akademi with a bulk of the money being spent on salaries and other expenses leaving very little for the main aims of the Akademi.
No sooner the current team had taken over, they had promised to focus on academic work rather than be focussed on the hitherto forte of the Akademi which was to organise programmes and festivals. The committee felt it would only be a duplication of the work of other government run institutes like that of Kala Academy and the Department of Art and Culture.
