Thiruvananthapuram: The finance department has written off Rs 5.70 lakh paid to the sculptor who made a mistake in making the statue of actor Murali. The mistake was in the making of half the bronze statue of Murali. When the construction work was completed, the sculpture that did not resemble the actor arrived. Murali was the chairman of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy at the time of his death.
It was then ordered to cancel Shilpi’s contract and refund the Rs 5.70 lakhs that had been paid in advance. But when Shilpi said that he was not ready to repay the money, the entire amount, including tax, was written off with conditions.
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The contract was awarded for the bronze statue of Murali at an estimated construction cost of Rs 5.70 lakh. When the construction work of the statue was completed, there was an allegation that it did not resemble the actor. Tried to transform but failed.
After the failure of the sculpture, the Academy advised to stop it. Though flawed, the statue was installed in the academy premises. A letter was issued asking Shilpi to repay the amount. Shilpi replied by requesting that the amount had been spent in excess of the allowance and that he should be exempted from repayment as he had no other source of income.
The Academy Executive Committee, which met last July, discussed Shilpi’s letter and forwarded the request to the government to waive the amount. After Culture Minister Saji Cherian accepted this, the Finance Department issued an order rejecting the amount.
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