Past Covid, SCZCC brims with life, hosts 11k artists

Nagpur: Finally coming out of the prolonged Covid shadow, the South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), headquartered in Nagpur, has started focusing on its activities by organizing and sponsoring cultural events. This is evident from its spending which touched nearly ₹11 crore during the previous fiscal year 2022-23.
According to reply to an RTI query, the SCZCC’s expenditure remained subdued in preceding two years on account of the pandemic. However, in 2022-23, the centre surpassed the allocated funds by spending nearly ₹1.5 crore. Throughout the year, SCZCC hosted 241 events, with a participation of 11,122 artists.

The SCZCC is a renowned cultural institution dedicated to promoting and preserving diverse cultural heritage of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Goa. The centre organizes a wide range of cultural programmes, festivals, exhibitions, and workshops, showcasing the region’s rich traditions, art forms, folk dances, music, and handicrafts etc.
During the pandemic-stricken year 2020-21, SCZCC received ₹8.29 crore grant from the central government. However, due to Covid lockdown and restrictions, only ₹3.80 crore could be utilized. In 2021-22, the centre transitioned to online platforms to resume its activities but could spend only ₹8 crore out of the sanctioned ₹9.38 crore grant. However, in 2022-23, the SCZCC managed to spend nearly ₹11 crore, though it received ₹9.23 crore as grant.
RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar had sought information regarding the SCZCC’s activities, prompting the information desk to provide a comprehensive report on all 241 events organized during the previous fiscal. Out of the nearly ₹11 crore expenditure, ₹6.52 crore were exclusively allocated to artists, constituting 65% of the total expenses, while the remaining amount was utilized for operational purposes. The centre also incurred an expenditure of ₹7.80 lakh on air travel for designated artists.
Analysis of the event details reveals that majority of the events were held in urban areas, while folk dance and folk music events took place in rural areas. Notably, all 114 sponsored events were conducted physically rather than online. This suggests that the cultural landscape experienced a complete return to normalcy in 2022-23.