Scheme to Provide Grant to the Institutions for Long Term Project in the Field of Art and Culture (Sarjansheel Goa)

What is Sarjansheel Goa?

Scheme to Provide Grant to the Institutions for Long Term Project in the Field of Art and Culture, known by its Konkani and Marathi name Sarjansheel Goa, is a grant scheme of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa. The Directorate describes it as a scheme the Government of Goa "designed in order to give financial support to the institutions/ individuals involved in long term projects in the field of Art & Culture."

The word sarjansheel means creative, and the design of the scheme follows from that. Most cultural funding in Goa is event-shaped, a festival, a competition, a single production. Sarjansheel Goa is the state's instrument for the opposite kind of work: a documentation project, an archive, a research programme, a training initiative or a revival effort that runs for years rather than for an evening.

The Directorate states three objectives:

• To create and develop a cultural environment in the State of Goa
• To provide financial support to institutions and individuals involved in long term projects in the field of art and culture
• To preserve and promote the cultural heritage of Goa

How much money does Sarjansheel Goa provide?

The eligible institution or individual is entitled to a grant of 80 per cent of the total expenditure involved, subject to a maximum ceiling of Rs 5 lakh per annum.

Two qualifications are printed alongside that figure in the Directorate's citizen charter and should be read carefully before budgeting:

1. The Department or Government may restrict the number of institutions and individuals sanctioned according to availability of funds.
2. The stated note is explicit: "The above limit for financial grant is maximum limit provided under this scheme and does not mean that the applicant shall get the financial grant to the extent of maximum limit but shall get the financial grant to the extent decided by the Sub-Committee/Department of Art & Culture/Government based on the nature and scope of the project, reputation of the institution, taking into consideration the overall impact on the society etc."

In practice this means the applicant must be able to fund at least 20 per cent of the project cost from its own or other sources, and should not plan on the full Rs 5 lakh.

Which institutions can and cannot get this grant?

The scheme has two separate eligibility tracks.

Institutions can apply if:

• The institution is registered under the Society's Registration Act, 1860 or under the Indian Trust Act.
• The institution is involved in a long term project in the field of art and culture.

Individuals can apply if:

• The applicant is from the Goan community and a resident of Goa for 15 years or more.
• The applicant is involved in a long term project in the field of art and culture, and has contributed at least 15 years in the relevant field.

You are not eligible if:

• You are an unregistered group, informal collective or a company that is not a society under the 1860 Act or a trust under the Indian Trust Act.
• You are an individual with less than 15 years of residence in Goa, or with less than 15 years of contribution to the relevant field. Both conditions apply together, so a distinguished artist who moved to Goa five years ago does not qualify, and neither does a long-resident newcomer to the field.
• Your proposal is a one-off event, show, festival or single production. The scheme is for long term projects; short-run activity is funded through the Directorate's separate scheme for organisation of camps, courses, festivals and cultural shows.
• You are asking for more than 80 per cent of your project cost, or for more than Rs 5 lakh in a year.

How to apply for Sarjansheel Goa

1. Establish which track you fall in, institution or individual. The document set differs completely between the two.
2. Write the detailed project report. This is the heart of the application and is required from both institutions and individuals. It should set out the nature and scope of the long term project, its duration, its cost, and its impact, the exact criteria the Sub-Committee applies.
3. Assemble the institutional papers, if applying as an institution: a copy of the constitution, bye-laws, rules and regulations; the registration certificate; and audited statements of accounts for the last three preceding years, duly signed by a Chartered Accountant.
4. Assemble the individual papers, if applying as an individual: a copy of a residence certificate showing 15 years or more in Goa, and a detailed report of your contribution to the relevant field of art and culture over the last 15 years.
5. Apply in writing to the Directorate of Art and Culture, Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, Goa, enclosing the above along with any other relevant documents.
6. Respond to the Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee, the Department and the Government together decide the quantum on the basis of the nature and scope of the project, the reputation of the institution and the overall impact on society.

How is the amount decided?

Three factors are named in the scheme text, and an applicant should address each of them explicitly in the project report:

• Nature and scope of the project: how long it runs, what it will produce, and whether it is genuinely long term rather than an event with a long lead time.
• Reputation of the institution — track record in the field, which is why three years of audited accounts are demanded.
• Overall impact on the society, who benefits, and whether the work contributes to preserving and promoting Goa's cultural heritage, which is the scheme's third stated objective.

Because the grant is expressed as per annum, a multi-year project is assessed year by year, and a fresh sanction depends on the funds available in that year.

What commonly goes wrong?

• Applying for a festival or a single show. The word in the title is long term, and one-off cultural events belong to a different scheme of the same Directorate.
• Individual applicants short of one of the two 15-year tests. Residence and contribution are separate requirements; both have to be met.
• Missing audited accounts. Institutions must produce three preceding years, signed by a Chartered Accountant. An unaudited balance sheet is not accepted.
• Budgeting for 100 per cent of the cost. The grant tops out at 80 per cent of total expenditure, and even that is a ceiling and not an entitlement.
• A thin project report. Since the Sub-Committee assesses nature, scope, reputation and impact from this document, a two-page note is the commonest reason for a small sanction.
• Assuming the Rs 5 lakh figure. The Directorate has written a formal caveat into the scheme precisely to prevent that assumption.

Where do I contact the department?

The officer named for this scheme is ACO II, Directorate of Art and Culture, Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, Goa, on 0832-2404623, email aco3-dac.goa@nic.in. The Directorate's website is www.artandculture.goa.gov.in, and the Web Information Manager can be reached on 0832-2404600 or dir-dac.goa@nic.in.

Sarjansheel Goa sits alongside other Directorate of Art and Culture schemes worth knowing about, Kala Samman for financial assistance to artists, Kalakar Kritadnyata Nidhi, assistance to students seeking education outside Goa in any field of art, and the grant-in-aid scheme for bhajani, choir and cultural groups to purchase musical instruments.

Key facts to remember

• Sarjansheel Goa is run by the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa.
• Grant of up to 80 per cent of total project expenditure, capped at Rs 5 lakh per annum.
• The ceiling is a maximum and not an entitlement. The Sub-Committee fixes the actual amount.
• Institutions must be registered under the Society's Registration Act, 1860 or the Indian Trust Act.
• Individuals must be from the Goan community, resident in Goa for 15 years or more, with 15 years of contribution to the field.
• A detailed project report is required from both institutions and individuals.
• Institutions must submit three years of CA-signed audited accounts.
• Applications are made in writing to the Directorate at Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji; the contact officer is ACO II on 0832-2404623.

How to check your application status

Sarjansheel Goa is applied for in writing, not through an online portal with a tracking dashboard, so there is no application number or login screen to check against. Status has to be confirmed directly with the Directorate.

• Call ACO II first. The officer named for this scheme, ACO II at the Directorate of Art and Culture, is reachable on 0832-2404623. Quote the date you submitted the application, the name of the institution or individual applicant, and the project title, since files are tracked by these details rather than by a generated reference number.
• Follow up by email if the call does not resolve it. Write to aco3-dac.goa@nic.in, referencing the same details, and ask for the file to be checked against the Sub-Committee's meeting record. Keep a copy of the original submission and any acknowledgement stamp or receipt from the Directorate's office as your proof of filing.
• Understand what "status" means at each stage. A written application first goes to the Sub-Committee for the Directorate of Art and Culture to examine the project report and supporting documents. It is then placed before the Sub-Committee, Department and Government together for a decision on the quantum, since the amount is not fixed and depends on the nature, scope and reputation criteria described above. There is no published timeline for how long each stage takes, so an applicant should expect to follow up rather than wait for an automatic communication.
• If several months have passed with no response, visit the Directorate of Art and Culture at Sanskruti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji in person with your submission receipt, or escalate to the Web Information Manager on 0832-2404600 or dir-dac.goa@nic.in if ACO II's office is not responding.
• A sanction, once made, is communicated by the Directorate directly to the institution or individual, typically by letter to the address given in the application; there is no separate SMS or portal notification system for this scheme, so keep your contact details current with the office you applied through.