Govt constitutes committee to look into literary awards

After declaring the Goa Konkani Akademi Literacy awards and the Bhasha Seva Puraskar for the year 2015 and 2016 as null and void, the government on Friday decided to constitute a committee to centralise and lay down guidelines regarding awards given by Konkani Academy, Marathi Academy, Kala Academy, and the Directorate of Art and Culture.

The committee will be chaired by Higher Education Director Prasad Lolyekar while Art & Culture Director Gurudas Pilarnkar and Director of Official Languages Prakash Vazarikar will serve as its members.

It was observed earlier that the employees of Goa Konkani Akademi were in the selection committee for short listing of books and the same employees had recommended their own books for awards, thus showing a conflict of interest.