The combined meeting of the Executive Board and Governing Body of the North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), Patiala (Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India) was held under the Chairmanship of Hon'ble Governor of Punjab-cum-Chairman, NZCC, Mr. V.P. Singh Badnore.Mr. Badnore while presiding over the annual meeting appreciated the efforts made by the NZCC for the promotion of folk art & culture not only of the member states but also other parts of the country in association with other Zonal Cultural Centres. The Executive Board/Governing Body approved the recommendations made by the Programme Committee and Finance Committee of NZCC in its recent meetings which include budget approval amounting to Rs.12.87 Crore and organization of Programmes during 2017-18.In the meeting enhancement the remuneration of Sculpture Artistes (wood/stone) was also approved as recommended by the Finance Committee. Now onwards the Sculpture Artistes (wood/stone) will be paid an honorarium of Rs.2,000/- per day or Rs.25,000/- whichever is less.It was also emphasized in the meeting that the Governments of Haryana, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan may release their balance contribution towards the Corpus Fund of the NZCC which comes to the tune of Rs.3.34 Crore.
The Governor directed to expedite the compilation of directory of different art forms of its member States so that a data base may be prepared and it should be brought under the public domain through publication/website. He also suggested compiling of a Coffee Table Book on different art forms.It was also decided that at least one rare/ dying art form from each Member State should be produced with quality documentation. Mr. Badnore also directed that all art forms should be given proper weightage, keeping in view of the basic mandate of the Zonal Cultural Centres. He further suggested holding of exhibitions/workshops of visual arts side by side cultural presentations.The case of providing ex-gratia to Late Umar Farooq, an outstanding Bhapang Vadan/Gayan artiste from Rajasthan, who expired during the rehearsals of the ‘Summer Festival-2017' at Nainital on 20/07/2017, was put up before the Executive Board/Governing Body by Director, NZCC & member Secretary. The EB/GB sanctioned Rs.2.00 lakh as ex-gratia payment to the legal heir of Late Umar Farooq from NZCC's own funds as a special case. In addition to this, the Chairman has also announced Rs.1.00 lakh out of discretionary funds to the legal heir of Late Umar Farooq.
The Governor also desired to have transparency in all financial and administrative matters. He was happy to note that NZCC was already making payments to all artists/service providers through RTGS/Cheque/DBT.Mr. Badnore also desired to explore the possibilities/modalities of bringing all artists who are invited for cultural programmes under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) Schemes of the Govt. of India.Prominent members who attended today’s meeting included Dr. Sumita Misra, IAS, Principal Secretary to Govt. of Haryana, Deptt. of Art & Culture, Chandigarh; Sh. Sh. J.M. Balamurugan, IAS, Secretary to Governor Punjab, Chandigarh; Sh. Shivdullar Singh Dhillon, IAS, Director, Department of Tourism & Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Punjab, Chandigarh; Sh. Pradeep Kumar, Director (ZCC), Govt. of India, Ministry of Culture, New Delhi; Sh. C.S. Krishna Shetty, Administrator, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi; Sh. Mahavir Singh, Dy. Secretary to Govt. of Rajasthan, Deptt. of Art & Culture; Sh. Rakesh Korla, Joint Director, Deptt. of Language Art & Culture, Himachal Pradesh; Dr. Arvinder Singh, Addl. Secretary, J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Language, Srinagar (J&K); Sh. Diwan Manna, President, Punjab Lalit Kala Academy, Chandigarh; Sh. Madhav Kaushik, Vice-Chairman, Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi, Chandigarh; Sh. Mahesh Kumar Panwar, Secretary, Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Academy, Jodhpur attended the said meeting. M. Furqan Khan, Director, NZCC, Patiala and Member Secretary conducted the meeting.