Southern States - Karnataka   

All wards in cities to have libraries

By Our Special Correspondent

GULBARGA Nov. 20. The Minister of State for Libraries and Adult Education, Baburao Chavan, said today that the State Government had decided to set up libraries in all wards in city corporation limits in the State.

Presiding over the valedictory function of the National Library Week in which 32 librarians, assistant librarians, and others were honoured in recognition of their service to the library movement, Mr. Chavan said elected representatives of city corporations should help the department identify buildings to house the libraries. He also said the department would slowly construct its own buildings in all the wards.

Mr. Chavan said the decision would come into effect before the end of the financial year, and the financial allocation for this had been made. The minister announced that exclusive libraries for the blind would be set up in the four city corporations. Mr. Chavan said there was also a plan to set up libraries in gram panchayats that did not have the facility and, for this purpose, the department had sought Rs. 1 crore from the Hyderabad-Karnataka Development Board (HKDB).

On the non-payment of library cess by most gram panchayats in the State, the minister said the Government would not view this leniently anymore, and that a proposal was being mooted to supersede the erring gram panchayats.

He said the department had received a grant of Rs. 75 lakh from the Rajaram Mohun Roy Library Foundation this year for computerisation and taking up construction of buildings for libraries.

The State Government had released a matching grant of Rs. 75 lakh for improving infrastructure.

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