Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi: Medical Treatment

What is Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi (Medical Treatment)?

Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi (KKN) is a welfare fund of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa. As stated on the Directorate's scheme page, the scheme "envisages sanction of Financial Assistance to Aged Needy Goan Artists and their dependent family in indigent circumstances subject to fulfilment of eligibility criteria and conditions as laid down under the Scheme." The scheme name is often written in Devanagari-derived transliteration as Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi, meaning a fund of gratitude towards artists.

Medical Treatment is one of seven objectives under the fund. The others are marriage of dependent daughters, compensation for natural calamities, funeral assistance, scholarship or incentives for the wards of artists, incentive for self employment, and a lumpsum grant on the death of the artist. This page covers the medical treatment component.

What the medical treatment component covers

According to the Directorate of Art and Culture, financial assistance under this head meets:

• Expenses towards major or minor surgical treatment in local or outstation hospitals.
• Expenses towards travelling and accommodation outside the State for treatment.
• Treatment for the artist and for wholly dependent family members.

The maximum financial assistance under this category shall not exceed Rs 50,000, though the Government may relax the ceiling in case of major chronic ailments.

Where the money comes from

The scheme is funded through a dedicated corpus. Under the nature and quantum of assistance clause, Rs 10,00,000 every year is earmarked for the scheme, and from the financial year 2009-2010 a separate Public Ledger Account was opened under which those funds are deposited for operating the scheme. The scheme page states that the scheme remains in force up to 31st March of the financial year 2026-27.

Who is eligible and who is not eligible?

You can apply if:

• You are a Goan aged needy artist, born and brought up in the State of Goa, and recognised by the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa: or you are a member of such an artist's family.
• Your annual family income from all sources does not exceed Rs 2,00,000 per annum.
• You are not less than 50 years of age. The Government may relax the age criteria for deserving cases under special circumstances.
• You can enclose the estimate of expenditure from the authorised doctor or hospital. Where the treatment is availed, or to be availed, on an emergency basis, the estimate may be submitted subsequently.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not recognised as an artist by the Directorate of Art and Culture. This is the gateway condition — the fund is for recognised Goan artists, not for the general public.
• Your annual family income exceeds Rs 2,00,000. Note that a lower limit of Rs 25,000 applies only to the separate lumpsum grant component, not to medical treatment.
• You are availing medical reimbursement from any other Government department, or under any other scheme or policy, for the same treatment.
• You cannot produce the documentation. The scheme states that all relevant documents such as birth certificate, marriage certificate, dependency certificates, income certificates and medical certificates issued by the competent authorities "shall have to be enclosed failing which the applications shall be summarily rejected."

Under the scheme's definitions, "family" means wife or husband, sons and daughters who are wholly dependent on the eligible Goan artist.

How to apply for KKN medical treatment assistance

1. Collect the prescribed proforma. Forms are available during working days at the office of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, Goa. A form download is also published on the Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi page at artandculture.goa.gov.in.
2. Get the treatment estimate. Obtain an estimate of expenditure from the authorised doctor or hospital. In an emergency, proceed with the treatment and submit the estimate subsequently, as the scheme expressly allows.
3. Assemble the certificates. Birth certificate to establish age, income certificate from the competent authority, medical certificates, and a dependency certificate where the patient is a wholly dependent family member. Missing certificates lead to summary rejection.
4. Fill and sign the proforma, stating the ailment, the hospital, whether the treatment is local or outstation, and whether travel and accommodation outside the state are involved.
5. Submit it directly to the Directorate of Art and Culture, Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, Goa. The scheme allows the eligible artist, the family, a co-artist or any member of the public to file the application, so a relative or fellow artist can do this for a bedridden artist.
6. Await the sub-committee's decision. On receipt of the application the Directorate forwards it to the sub-committee constituted by Government for thorough scrutiny. The Director of Art and Culture gives recommendations to the sub-committee, which decides the quantum of assistance.
7. Receive the money by ECS. After Government approval is obtained, the Director of Art and Culture disburses the one-time financial assistance to the eligible applicant through ECS.
8. Settle the account afterwards. Furnish details of the expenditure incurred along with vouchers to the department after availing the treatment, and refund any unutilised amount out of the sanctioned money to Government within 3 months from completion of the treatment.

How is the amount decided?

The rupee figure is not fixed at Rs 50,000 for everyone. Rs 50,000 is the ceiling. The sub-committee constituted by Government meets as and when required, considers the applications received, and recommends the names of artists in indigent circumstances to the Director of Art and Culture. The sub-committee decides both the case and the amount to be sanctioned. Where the ailment is a major chronic one, the Government may relax the Rs 50,000 ceiling.

What are the common reasons an application is rejected?

• Missing certificates. The scheme uses the phrase "summarily rejected" for applications without the required birth, income, medical or dependency certificates.
• Income above Rs 2,00,000 per annum from all sources.
• Artist not recognised by the Directorate of Art and Culture.
• Age below 50 with no case made out for relaxation.
• Double claiming. Reimbursement already taken from another Government department or scheme for the same treatment.
• No estimate of expenditure, in a non-emergency case, from the authorised doctor or hospital.
• Failure to settle an earlier sanction, since vouchers must be furnished and unspent money refunded within 3 months.

What are the other components of Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi?

Knowing the whole fund helps, because an artist's family often qualifies under more than one head:

• Marriage: up to Rs 20,000 for the first dependent daughter's marriage and Rs 15,000 for the second, for a maximum of two wholly dependent unmarried daughters, with a dependency certificate.
• Compensation towards natural calamities: maximum Rs 25,000, or the valuation done by the concerned Taluka Mamlatdar, whichever is less, for repair or construction of a house damaged by natural calamity.
• Funeral of the artist: up to Rs 10,000, with a copy of the death certificate furnished within 2 months from the date of sanction.
• Scholarship or incentives: Rs 750 per month during the academic year, excluding vacation, sanctioned half yearly to the wards of recognised Goan artists enrolled in a recognised institution for post graduate, degree or professional courses.
• Incentive for self employment: not exceeding Rs 50,000 or the actual cost, whichever is less.
• Lumpsum grant: maximum Rs 20,000 on the death of the artist to the family, where the annual family income is less than Rs 25,000 per annum.

Where do I raise a grievance?

The scheme has its own grievance clause: if any grievance arises out of the implementation of the scheme, the Minister for Art and Culture shall hear and decide the matter, and the decision of the Minister for Art and Culture in this regard shall be final. In practice, start with the Directorate of Art and Culture, Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, Goa, which can be reached by email at dir-dac.goa@nic.in. Questions of interpretation of any clause, word, expression or of the entire scheme lie with the Government, whose decision is final and binding on all concerned.

How to check your application status

Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi has no online tracking portal or SMS alert system for the medical treatment component, so status checking is entirely offline through the Directorate of Art and Culture.

• Note your submission details. Keep the date you submitted the proforma, the name of the artist on the application, and the ailment or hospital named in it. You will need these to be identified quickly when you follow up, since there is no acknowledgement number or portal login.
• Visit or write to the Directorate. The application, once filed, moves from the Directorate of Art and Culture to the sub-committee constituted by Government for scrutiny, so the Directorate's office is the only place that can tell you where the file stands. Visit in person at Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, Goa, or write to dir-dac.goa@nic.in describing the applicant's name and the date of submission.
• Ask specifically which stage it is at. The file passes through three identifiable stages: initial scrutiny at the Directorate, review and recommendation by the sub-committee, and final Government approval before disbursement. Ask which of these three the application has reached rather than just "has it been approved," since the office can usually locate a file faster against a named stage.
• Expect disbursement by ECS, not a call. If the application has been approved, the sanctioned amount is credited directly to the applicant's bank account through ECS. Since there is no notification system, the practical way to confirm approval is to check whether the credit has come through, alongside a follow-up call or visit to the Directorate.
• Follow up again if there is no movement after a reasonable wait, since the sub-committee meets only as and when required rather than on a fixed monthly calendar, and a case can wait longer between sittings when few applications are pending. A polite follow-up in person or by email is the only lever available; there is no separate helpline number published for this scheme.
• After sanction, track your own settlement deadline. Once money is received, the applicant is responsible for furnishing expenditure vouchers and refunding any unspent balance within 3 months of completing the treatment, so keep this date noted independently rather than waiting for a reminder from the Directorate.