Assistance for Purchase of Spectacles - Folk Artists

What is the Assistance for Purchase of Spectacles scheme?

Assistance for Purchase of Spectacles is one of six welfare benefits run by the Tamil Nadu Folk Artistes Welfare Board under the Art and Culture Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. The board pays a registered folk artiste Rs 1,500 towards the purchase of spectacles, once in three years.

The benefit is small, but its logic is specific to the trade. A folk performer, a therukoothu actor, a parai drummer, a villupattu narrator, a puppeteer; works with hand, eye and script, often in poor light and often into old age. Eyesight is a working tool, and a performer with no regular salary is precisely the person likely to defer buying spectacles. The board's own reporting shows this need is real: 3,939 folk artistes drew Rs 25.45 lakh under the spectacles head, the second largest count among all its welfare payments.

The Tamil Nadu Folk Artistes Welfare Board was constituted in 2007 to promote folk arts among the public, support folk artistes financially, and preserve traditional art forms for future generations. The Government of Tamil Nadu has identified and enlisted 99 folk art forms, and 57,308 artistes have registered as members of the board.

What the Folk Artistes Welfare Board pays

Across all these heads, the department reported Rs 236.86 lakh sanctioned for 9,833 folk artistes, of which spectacles accounted for 3,939 beneficiaries and Rs 25.45 lakh.

Who is eligible, and who cannot apply?

You can claim if:

• You are a registered member of the Tamil Nadu Folk Artistes Welfare Board, holding a valid membership identity card.
• Your membership is current, that is, renewed within the two-year cycle.
• You practise one of the 99 recognised folk art forms in Tamil Nadu.
• You are between 18 and 60 years of age, the age band the board specifies for membership.
• You have a prescription showing you need spectacles.
• Three years or more have passed since your last spectacles claim.

You cannot claim if:

• You are not registered with the board. An unregistered folk artiste, however well known, is not eligible for any of the board's benefits; the registration comes first and costs Rs 100.
• You are outside the 18 to 60 age band for membership.
• You claimed spectacles assistance within the last three years. The benefit is once in three years.
• Your art form is not on the enlisted folk art list. Classical performers in vocal music, Bharatanatyam and instrumental music are covered instead through the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram's schemes.
• You are seeking reimbursement of the full cost of expensive lenses. The assistance is a fixed Rs 1,500, not a cost-plus reimbursement.

How to apply for the spectacles assistance

1. Register with the Tamil Nadu Folk Artistes Welfare Board if you have not already. Applications are submitted at the Regional Art and Cultural Centre in your district, or at the Directorate of Art and Culture if you live in Chennai district.
2. Assemble the registration papers: proof of residence, age and family details such as a ration card and Aadhaar; a Village Administrative Officer's certificate confirming you are a folk artiste; three passport-size photographs; and photographs of your performances. Pay the Rs 100 registration fee.
3. Collect your membership identity card and keep the renewal current — the renewal fee is Rs 10 every two years, and a duplicate card costs Rs 20.
4. Get an eye test at a government hospital or a qualified optometrist and obtain a written prescription.
5. Submit the spectacles claim at the same Regional Art and Cultural Centre with your membership card, the prescription, the bill or estimate for the spectacles, Aadhaar and a bank passbook copy.
6. Receive the Rs 1,500 in your bank account after the board sanctions the claim.

What documents are required?

How to check the status of a claim

Tamil Nadu does not publish an online tracker for individual Folk Artistes Welfare Board claims. In practice:

1. Note the acknowledgement or file number given when you submit the claim at the Regional Art and Cultural Centre.
2. Follow up at the same Regional Centre, which forwards claims to the board.
3. Escalate to the Directorate of Art and Culture, Chennai, if the claim is pending for an unusually long time.

Why claims get rejected

• Membership lapsed. Renewal is due every two years and costs only Rs 10, but a lapsed card is the single most common reason a claim fails.
• Claim made within three years of the previous spectacles claim.
• No VAO certificate at registration stage, so the applicant was never enrolled as a member in the first place.
• Missing prescription or bill, which the board needs to sanction the amount.
• Age outside the 18-60 band at the time of registration.

Key facts to remember

• The board was constituted in 2007.
• 99 folk art forms are officially enlisted in Tamil Nadu.
• 57,308 artistes are registered as members.
• Rs 1,500 is the spectacles benefit, claimable once in three years.
• 3,939 artistes received the spectacles benefit, totalling Rs 25.45 lakh.
• Registration fee Rs 100, renewal Rs 10 every two years, duplicate card Rs 20.

Where to apply and raise a grievance

• Regional Art and Cultural Centre for your district. The first point for both registration and claims. Regional Centres function at Chennai, Kancheepuram, Thanjavur, Madurai, Salem, Tirunelveli, Tiruchirappalli and Coimbatore.
• Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, for Chennai district applicants and for escalation.
• Department website: artandculture.tn.gov.in, which carries the Folk Artistes Welfare Board page and the artist registration facility.

Registration and claims are handled directly by the department at published fees. No agent can obtain board membership or a welfare payment on your behalf.