Lok Sabha Question No. 2042 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-13
Subject: Promotion of Bansidhar Mahotsava
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Vishnu Dayal Ram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2042 ANSWERED ON 13 TH  MARCH, 2023

## PROMOTION OF BANSIDHAR MAHOTSAVA

## 2042. SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

Will the Minister of Culture be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  various  festivals  celebrated  in  the  State  of Jharkhand and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  for  the  promotion  of  the  Bansidhar Mahotsav in Garhwa district of Jharkhand and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Union  Government  is  providing  funds  to  the  States  to  organise  fairs  and festivals and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d)  whether the assistance is extended to the States to promote new festivals/mahotsavs and if so, the details thereof for the State of Jharkhand?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a) & (b) Ministry of Culture organizes national level festivals like Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsavs (RSMs) through its Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) where a large number of artists across India participate to showcase their talents. Besides RSMs, ZCCs also organize regional festivals alongwith other cultural activities/ programmes for promotion of culture every year as per their programme calendar across the member States under their respective jurisdiction. The  State  of  Jharkhand  falls  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Eastern  Zonal  Cultural  Centre (EZCC),  Kolkata  which  is  engaged  in  promoting  and  preserving  the  rural,  folk  and  tribal culture  of  total  9  member  States  including  Jharkhand.  EZCC  also  provides  financial assistance  to  cultural  groups/  artists/  artisans/  NGOs  to  organize  festivals/  mahotsavs recommended by the Department of Culture, Govt. of Jharkhand. However, EZCC has not received  any  such  proposal  from  Department  of  Culture,  Govt.  of  Jharkhand  to  promote Bansidhar Mahotsav.

(c) & (d) No,  Sir.  State/  UT-wise  funds  are  not  released  by  the  Ministry  of  Culture, Government of India to organize fairs and festivals. However, the grant-in-aid released to the seven  ZCCs  during  the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year  for  organizing  their  activities including RSMs and regional festivals is as under:

(Rs. in lakh)

|   Sl. No. | Year                 |   Amount released for organizing activities including Regional Festivals |   Amount released for organizing RSMs |
|-----------|----------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
|         1 | 2019-20              |                                                                  5732.95 |                                996    |
|         2 | 2020-21              |                                                                  4009.38 |                                694.68 |
|         3 | 2021-22              |                                                                  5881.48 |                                916.6  |
|         4 | 2022-23 (as on date) |                                                                  4211.86 |                               1999.62 |

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