Southern States - Karnataka   

Rajyotsava Award list submitted to CM

By K.N. Venkatasubba Rao

BANGALORE Oct. 25. Despite "not being fully happy'', the committee formed for preparing a list of names of people deserving the Rajyotsava Award to be presented on November 1 has recommended 55 to 60 of them. The list was submitted to the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, on Saturday, and it is likely to be announced on Monday.

The list is said to have been prepared in "absolute secrecy'' with emphasis on rural areas, age factor, and balanced regional representation. A majority of those in the list is said to be above 50. Absence of clear-cut norms and lack of transparency in preparing the list has given room for apprehensions. Though the committee is said to be tight-lipped, some names, said to be in the list, are being publicised, causing "uneasiness'' in interested quarters.

The committee, comprising the Minister of State for Kannada and Culture, Rani Satish, C.S. Kedar, Secretary, Kannada and Culture, and Y.K. Muddu Krishna (Member-Secretary), Director, Kannada and Culture, was expected to finalise the list on October 20. But owing to increased lobbying by persons, including politicians, and pressing schedules, the committee could not finalise it until Friday evening. However, it managed to prepare a "neat though not a fully convincing list'', considering the short time left for Rajyotsava Day.

The committee had a tough time processing the "applications from award seekers and others'' from the initial stages for various reasons, both "amusing and shocking.'' Sorting out duplication of applications tested the patience of the committee, although all applications had been screened through a specially designed software. A number of applicants reportedly adopted clever tactics such as submitting applications directly through the Directorate of Kannada and Culture, pushing the same through the respective academies, and exerting pressure through ministerial contacts. Ms. Satish told The Hindu that the panel had been committed to preparing a "neat list''. Asked how some names were said to be out, she said the panel had to depend heavily on various people while processing each case. It had to seek clarifications and police verification, and cross check several aspects of the prospective award winners' achievements and antecedents. It was improper to read political and other meanings into the committee's method of selection, she added.

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