Mysore/Mysuru: Despite public libraries across the State facing a severe funding crisis, writers and publishers have alleged that the Library Cess collected by local bodies is being misused.

According to N. Ravikumar, Secretary of the Karnataka State Publishers Association, the Department of Public Libraries has seen no progress despite a bureaucratic upgrade.

He explained that while the Department was previously headed by a Director, the State Government upgraded the post to the rank of Commissioner several years ago and began appointing IAS officers to the role.

Ravikumar highlighted that a 6 percent Library Cess is collected by the State’s six City Corporations and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). However, due to technical issues, these funds cannot be deposited into the Department’s centralised bank account.

“Several writers, intellectuals, and others met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa last year regarding this issue,” Ravikumar stated.

“Subsequently, both the Chief Minister and the Minister directed the Finance Department to take necessary action. But the Finance Department officials have not responded and even the Commissioner of Public Libraries appears to be showing no interest. As a result, the demands of publishers and writers remain unfulfilled,” he said.

No initiative from IAS officers

He alleged that the IAS officers appointed as Commissioners have shown little initiative in developing libraries or even securing funds allotted to the Department.

Citing a specific example, he lamented that a Rs. 7 crore fund allotted in 2020 went unutilised and was returned to the Finance Department. Furthermore, the Department has shown negligible interest in purchasing 300 books recommended for bulk buying by the Book Selection Committee in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Ravikumar asserted that this ‘lackadaisical attitude’ has caused financial losses to publishers and reiterated that the collected Library Cess is being diverted for other purposes.

He added that despite numerous representations made over the years to successive governments — under Chief Ministers B.S. Yediyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, H.D. Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah — regarding their three-point charter of demands, nothing has been achieved.

He squarely blamed official apathy for the ongoing troubles plaguing the public library system.