Pension Scheme for Elderly, Destitute Artists, Litterateurs and Writers of Uttarakhand State

What is the Pension Scheme for Elderly, Destitute Artists, Litterateurs and Writers?

The Pension Scheme for Elderly, Destitute Artists, Litterateurs and Writers of Uttarakhand State: in Hindi, Uttarakhand Rajya ke Vriddh, Vipann Kalakar, Sahityakar evam Lekhakon Hetu Pension Yojana, is a monthly pension run by the Directorate of Culture, Government of Uttarakhand, known locally as Sanskriti Nideshalaya. The directorate lists it on its schemes page as vriddh kalakaron, lekhakon ko masik pension, a monthly pension to elderly artists and writers.

The scheme exists for a specific, real problem. Uttarakhand's folk culture; its Jagar singers, Chholiya dancers, dhol-damau players, mask-makers, Garhwali and Kumaoni poets and prose writers; has been carried for generations by people who were never salaried and never had a provident fund. Many reach their seventies with a body of work, a district full of students, and no income at all. This pension is the state's answer to that.

Key features

• Monthly pension, paid to the beneficiary's bank account.
• Rate fixed at Rs 3,000 per month by the directorate's scheme guidelines, with the state government later announcing a doubling to Rs 6,000 per month for aged and financially weak artists and writers.
• Minimum age 60 years.
• Restricted to permanent or native residents of Uttarakhand.
• Survivor provision, on the death of the beneficiary, the spouse continues to receive the pension as a dependent.
• Applications are decided by a committee chaired by the Secretary or Principal Secretary, which interviews applicants.
• Applied for offline, on a form downloaded from the directorate's website.

Who is eligible for this pension?

You can apply if:

• You are 60 years of age or above. The directorate accepts a birth certificate, or an age certificate issued by a government medical officer.
• You are a permanent or native resident of Uttarakhand.
• You have dedicated your life to art, culture or literature and made a significant and distinguished contribution: as a performing artist, folk artist, litterateur, writer or author.
• You are in financial distress, with monthly income within the scheme's ceiling. The directorate's guidelines set the ceiling low, at the order of Rs 3,000 a month, and also ask for a BPL certificate.
• You can produce evidence of your work, certificates from government or recognised non-government bodies, published books, recordings, awards or press records.
• Your application carries a recommendation from the district administration.

You cannot apply / are not eligible if:

• You are below 60 years of age.
• You are not a permanent or native resident of Uttarakhand.
• Your income is above the notified ceiling. This is a destitution-linked pension, not an honour for all senior artists.
• You cannot evidence a lifetime and substantial contribution to art, culture or literature. A short or occasional association is not enough.

The word vipann in the Hindi title means impoverished, and it is doing real work in this scheme. Both conditions — age and financial distress: must be met together, alongside the artistic record.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the artists and writers pension

The scheme is applied for offline. No online portal has been notified for it.

1. Download the application form from the Directorate of Culture schemes page at uttarakhandculture.in/schemes.php. If the download fails, collect the form in person from the Directorate of Culture at MDDA Colony, Chander Road, Dalanwala, Dehradun.
2. Fill the form with your personal details, your field of art or literature, a summary of your work and contribution, and your bank details.
3. Attach your documents: residence certificate, age proof, Aadhaar, PAN, bank passbook copy, income or BPL certificate, educational qualification proof, and everything that evidences your artistic or literary contribution.
4. Obtain the district administration's recommendation on your application. Approach the District Magistrate's office or the district cultural officer for this. Applications reach the directorate through this route.
5. Submit the complete application to the Director, Directorate of Culture, Uttarakhand, Dehradun, and keep a photocopy of everything you submitted along with the acknowledgement.
6. Attend the interview if you are called. A committee chaired by the Secretary or Principal Secretary of the department reviews the applications, interviews applicants and recommends approval.
7. Confirm your bank details once sanctioned, so the monthly credit starts without a failed transfer.

Applicants who are frail or live far from Dehradun commonly send the application through the district cultural office or through a recognised cultural institution they are associated with, rather than travelling themselves. Keep the postal receipt if you send it by registered post.

How much is paid and how?

The Directorate of Culture's own scheme guidelines set the monthly pension at Rs 3,000. The state government has since announced that the monthly pension for aged and financially weak artists and writers is doubled from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 a month. Because the directorate's published scheme page still carries the older figure, the rate that will actually apply to a new sanction should be confirmed with the Directorate of Culture before you apply. This guide does not assume which figure applies to a given sanction year.

Payment is monthly and goes to the beneficiary's bank account. On the death of the beneficiary, the spouse continues to receive the monthly pension as a dependent survivor, which is a meaningful feature. It means the family of a folk artist is not left with nothing when the artist dies.

How do I check the status of my application?

Because there is no online portal, status is tracked through offices:

1. Keep the acknowledgement the directorate or the district office gives you when you submit, with the date and any diary number.
2. Follow up with the district administration if your file is waiting for the recommendation stage, that is where most applications sit longest.
3. Contact the Directorate of Culture on 0135-2712595 or write to directorculture@gmail.com, quoting your name, district and the date of submission.
4. Ask about the committee meeting. Sanctions are made in batches after the committee chaired by the Secretary or Principal Secretary meets, so an application filed just after a meeting waits for the next one.

Why applications get rejected, and what to do about it

• Age below 60, or an age proof the directorate will not accept. Get a government medical officer's age certificate if you have no birth certificate.
• Residence not established as permanent or native Uttarakhand.
• Income above the ceiling, or no income or BPL certificate attached at all.
• Weak evidence of contribution. A bare claim to be an artist without certificates, publications, recordings, awards or press records behind it.
• No district administration recommendation, which makes the file incomplete.
• Bank details wrong or the account dormant, which stops payment even after sanction.
• Duplication with another government pension the applicant is already drawing; check this before you apply, since the same person cannot always hold two state pensions.

The fix in almost every case is documentary. Spend the effort on the contribution file: photographs of performances, programme brochures, letters from institutions, copies of published work, and any state or district award citation. That file is what the interviewing committee actually reads.

What else does the Directorate of Culture run?

The pension sits inside a wider set of schemes the directorate lists, which an artist or writer in distress should know about:

• Financial assistance to writers for book publication, reported at up to Rs 2 lakh.
• Financial assistance to impoverished artists and their dependents in arts and allied fields, a separate head from the pension.
• Grants to autonomous institutions engaged in cultural activity.
• Financial assistance to fair committees for organising traditional and other fairs.
• Purchase of traditional instruments and costumes for Scheduled Caste persons, and cultural complexes in SC-majority areas.
• Documentation, preservation and promotion of tribal art and culture.
• Workshops and documentation in folk music and folk dance.
• Financial assistance for religious pilgrimages to permanent residents of the state, including support for Kailash Mansarovar travellers.
• Bhatkhande Hindustani music colleges for formal training in classical music, dance and instrumental music.

The directorate also maintains a list of empanelled artists, and being empanelled is one of the cleaner ways to build the documentary record that a pension application later needs.

Where do I get help?

• Directorate of Culture (Sanskriti Nideshalaya), Uttarakhand: MDDA Colony, Chander Road, Dalanwala, Dehradun.
• Telephone and fax: 0135-2712595
• Email: directorculture@gmail.com
• Uttarakhand CM Helpline: 1905
• District Magistrate's office / district cultural officer in your district, for the recommendation and for help completing the form.

There is no fee to apply, and no agent can get this pension sanctioned. If anyone asks for money to "get your name in the artists pension list", that is a fraud and should be reported to the directorate.