LAHORE, Sept 24: An ordinance, giving legal cover to the autonomous status of Lahore Arts Council (Alhamra), has been finalized and is likely to be promulgated in a day or two.
The LAC was granted autonomy in the year 2000. The Punjab Council of the Arts Regulation (Pucar) 1982 was amended for the purpose.
However, the ordinance has been drafted in view of the finance department’s objections to the legality of LAC’s autonomous status. The finance department says the LAC is still under Pucar.
According to official sources, draft of the ordinance was approved by the governor on September 16.
They said the law would allow the Alhamra’s Board of Governors (BoGs) a three-year tenure instead of one year. The governor would nominate the chairperson of the board as its patron.
After being granted autonomy, Alhamra has had two BoGs. The chairman was elected by the 18-member body in both cases.
The board would include 12 private and six official members. The official members would include secretaries of the finance and formation departments, Lahore’s DCO, Punjab university’s fine arts department chairman and the PTV general manager. Alhamra’s executive director will be its secretary.
Official sources said the tenure had been increased to strengthen the council. Nomination of chairperson has been introduced to avoid friction among the board members, they claimed.
The Lahore Arts Council was established in 1949 and inaugurated by the then Governor-General Khwaja Nazimuddin. It was then known as Pakistan Arts Council.
After the introduction of Punjab Council of the Arts Act in 1975, the government took control of the Lahore Arts Council, in 1983, in view of differences among the artistes running its affairs.
The last BoG of Alhamra completed its term on May 31. Its chairperson, Faqir Syed Aijazuddin, had resigned, after a representative of the finance department questioned the legality of the board at its meeting on April 27. He, however, withdrew his resignation on the request of the parent Punjab information department.
Since May 31, the affairs of Alhamra have been run without a BoG. Its executive director, Shabbir Ahmad, says he is doing the job, as the governor has empowered him to do so.
Meanwhile, it has also been learnt that the government would announce the new BoG for Alhamra in the next two days.