Libraries await govt funds

GHMC is paying just Rs 12 lakh per month towards the maintenance of libraries even though it owes the City Grandhalaya Samastha more than Rs 300 crore

A majority of the 66 owned buildings of the City Grandhalaya Samastha (CGS) are in a sorry state and falling apart. Exasperated by the apathy shown by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), the CGS, which oversees 86 libraries (of which 80 are functioning), is waiting for better days to come.

AVN Raju, secretary, CGS says, “The GHMC owes over Rs 300 crore and it is over four years since the corporation paid the cess amount that is due. We need to repair old buildings, purchase new books and refurbish Grade II and III libraries but what we get is just Rs 12 lakh per month from the civic body.”

The GHMC has to part with 8 per cent of the property tax money that it collects from the citizens to CGS. The last time the CGS received an amount of Rs 6.5 crore was in 2010-11. Earlier, when citizens paid property tax at e-seva centres, the 8 per cent amount was deducted and the CGS was given cheques, but since 2010 the practice was stalled on the behest of GHMC.

A senior staffer of CGS said that the amount from e-seva used to be around Rs 5 crore per year; it could have at least taken care of the salaries. According to the GO (MS No 122), 8 per cent of the salaries have to directly go to CGS. 98 employees and a large number of outsourced employees have not received salaries for the last two months.

Sudeer, an employee said, “We get salaries once in two or three months. The morale of the employees is at an all-time low.” There is a need of 261 employees but there are just 98 on rolls.

Punching above their weight

With only 44 librarians to take care of the 80 libraries, there is an acute shortage of qualified staff. A librarian is in-charge of more than one library. Suresh (name changed on request) says, “Thanks to the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Foundation, Kolkata, which sends books every year, and donations by the public, books get added. In many libraries there are a good number of visitors and if we include more books the number would grow.”

Grade III libraries the worst hit

The libraries in the city are divided into three categories based on population. In Grade I libraries, such as the CGS at Ashok Nagar, Central Library, Ghasmandi, Branch library, Nampally and Branch library, Shalibanda about 700-800 people visit every day, but in the Grade III libraries that are in the interiors of the city in bastis, lack basic facilities.

These Grade III libraries are usually in one or two rooms and lack furniture, books and electricity. Few people, mostly the elderly, visit the libraries and the younger lot give it a miss. Rahul, a resident of Bhoiguda says, “There are hardly any books that interest the youngsters but a friend of mine requested for a book as he was preparing for an exam and surprisingly the librarian who was actually a record assistant made it available.”

There is a scheme titled ‘Readers Demand’ under which books are procured upon request by the visitors. In 2013-14, 223 books were purchased under the scheme, and 294 books were purchased in 2012-13. Sujit, a resident of Ghasmandi says, “Libraries, if refurbished, can be of great help to people as many have cracked even Civil Services studying in these very libraries.”

By:T P Venu