Aid to 34 Pune public libraries withdrawn

PUNE: Two government-aided public libraries in the city and 32 in the district have been declared ineligible for aid in a recent inspection carried out by the district administration.

The libraries, categorised as 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D' by the state, were found flouting government norms regarding daily operation, maintenance of accounts, membership, number and quality of books and staff.

The inspection drive covered 591 public libraries in the district.

The libraries are given annual grants to the tune of Rs 20,000 to Rs 4 lakh for their development as per their grades. Besides, they are also given building funds of up to Rs 75,000 for any repairs that need to be carried out.

The state government recently passed an order that an inspection of all public libraries in the state be conducted since the government was planning to increase grants to aided libraries by 50%.

"It was found during the drive that some libraries were opened only for funds, while some libraries had facilities only on paper. There were some libraries that were registered but did not exist, while some of them had closed down," said deputy collector Ravindra Kulkarni. The report of this inspection will be sent to the state government and further action will be taken, he added.

Meanwhile, he said, "In the city, a total of 55 public libraries were inspected and it was found that 53 libraries were functioning well. Two libraries - Santoshi Granthalaya in Karvenagar and Adarsh Vachanalay in Ghorpadi - have been found ineligible to receive the grant."

During the inspection, one library in Khed taluka was demoted to a lower category. Kulkarni said that among the libraries that were found ineligible are 11 libraries in Haveli taluka (the highest in the district), three each in Shirur, Velhe, Junnar and Indapur and four in Daund.

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