Premchand memorial stalled as land yet to be alloted: Govt

This was informed by Culture Minister Kumari Selja to the Lok Sabha today in response to a question on the progress made on the project and its present status.

The proposal to establish a research centre was put forth by a committee under the chairmanship of the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Culture in 2005 formed to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Munshi Premchand.

In the meeting of this Committee held on November 3, 2005, it was decided that the Banaras Hindu University should take over the Memorial and Research Centre, and an amount of Rs 2 crore was sanctioned to the institution on March 30, 2007, the Parliament was informed.

Last year, the foundation stone for the research and study centre was laid by the Uttar Pradesh government at Premchand's village.

"The construction work has been awarded to the CPWD by the BHU about a year back but due to non-allotment of land measuring 0.249 acres by the Uttar Pradesh government, the work could not be undertaken at the site," Selja said.

Premchand's 125th birth anniversary was commemorated from July 31, 2005 to July 31, 2006.

In response to another question, the Minister said that under the Public Records Act (PRA) that lays down guidelines for the management and appraisal of all public records, only a few ministries and departments have transferred public records to the National Archives of India.

A Consultative Committee in 2010 to study its working had proposed the setting up of a regulatory mechanism for the effective implementation of the PRA.