Bengaluru: The Kannada and Culture Department has selected elderly, economically disadvantaged artistes for monthly pensions, but the government has not approved these selections for the past four years. As a result, thousands of artistes are left struggling for pension support in their old age. The department provides monthly pensions to financially vulnerable elderly artistes. Each year, it compiles a final list of eligible artistes and submits it to the government for approval. However, no approval has been granted in the last four years, which has led to 800 to 1,000 artistes being deprived of the monthly pension each year.

During the tenure of the previous BJP government, an extensive review was conducted for the years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 to prepare a list of approximately 2,500 artistes. However, due to the financial department’s lack of approval, the list has not been finalized. The new Congress government has also not granted approval for this list since taking office.

The monthly pension for artistes in the state has been increased from ₹2,000 to ₹3,000. Meanwhile, over a thousand new applications for pensions for the years 2023-24 and 2024-25 have been submitted to the Kannada and Culture Department. While approval for the pending list is still awaited, the new list remains unfinalized as well. According to the Kannada and Culture Department, individuals receiving the monthly pension should not also be receiving any benefits from the Revenue Department or other departments. Only those who do not receive support elsewhere are eligible for the pension. Currently, about 2,000 individuals are on the list. A senior official from the Kannada and Culture Department stated that as soon as the funds are released by the Finance department, the pensions will be disbursed.