Documents with DNA show funds allocated to art organisations given on faulty criteria: Mittal allegedly went over sanctioned limit in allocating funds
Long known as the flag-bearer of Indian art, the Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) has now managed to paint a very different picture of itself. Documents exclusively accessed by DNA show close to Rs 50 lakh was allegedly siphoned from the LKA under a scheme started by former administrator and former additional secretary, Ministry of Culture, KK Mittal.
Mittal, who is now in the dock for alleged embezzlement, took charge of the LKA on April 1, 2015. Here, he came up with the scheme entitled 'Financial Assistance to Art Organisation Rules 2015', which was meant to aid art organisations or private organisations like NGOs for organising art promotional activities.
According to the scheme, such organisations which met the required 'eligibility criteria' would be entitled to Rs 5 lakh while north-eastern organisations and those who organised international art events would get approximately Rs 10 lakh.
Seen as a good idea, the scheme however fell apart on paper. Documents with DNA show that at least eight organisations for which money were sanctioned submitted incomplete forms while another organisation. Nav Siddhartha Art Group, was sanctioned grants above limits. According to documents with DNA, this was decided upon at a Programme Expert Committee meeting on March 21, 2016, held under the chairmanship of Mittal himself.
The organisations under the scanner are Himalayan Heritage Research & Development Society, East Sikkim; Sudarshan Art and Craft Village, Odisha; Navodit—A society for Human Advancement, Bihar; Shilp Kutumb, Uttarakhand; Integrated People Welfare Association, Manipur; Shaskiya Lalit Kala Mahavidyalaya, Jabalpur, and Nav Siddhartha Art Group, New Delhi.
When asked about the alleged embezzlement, LKA administrator CS Krishna Shetty said that he was in no position to comment as he was newly appointed.
"I cannot say anything because I have joined 3-4 months back," Shetty said. However, sources confirmed that the files regarding the same have been sent to the Ministry of Culture and action is awaited.
Sources added that while 75 per cent funds allocated for this project has been dispersed, the remaining has been withheld.
Complaints regarding Mittal's alleged malpractice has been going on for some time. In a letter dated May 31, 2016, a complaint by a research officer at the LKA highlighted anomalies with the incomplete forms of various organisations.
The complainant had alleged that no physical verification of the NGOs and organisations was conducted under this scheme and grants were sanctioned without the fulfillment of the exception clause. It also alleged that Rahas Mohanty, consultant, at the Gallery in the Akademi, was also involved in financial irregularities.
Another letter sent to the PMO by one Vivek Verma from Bhopal on May 15, 2016, alleged that Rs 60 lakh have been siphoned out of the organisation under this scheme.
This is not the only scheme where Mittal is being accused of fund embezzlement. Sources at the LKA say Mittal had created a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme, which did not have Ministry of Culture's approval.
Despite repeated calls Mittal was not available for comment.
This is not the first the LKA has been under the scanner for alleged financial irregularities. In fact, a special audit of the LKA conducted in 2015 by an internal team of Human Resource and Development Ministry (HRD) found anomalies in the payment and accounting procedures. This was before, however, Mittal took charge.
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