With the term of Bengaluru-based artist CS Krishna Setty as administrator of Lalit Kala Akademi ending on Thursday, the Ministry of Culture has appointed Joint Secretary ML Srivastava as protem chairman. Srivastava has taken charge and will continue to hold office till a full-time chairman is appointed by the Centre. Ministry sources said a search committee was formed a few weeks ago to look for a new chairman and three names have already been shortlisted. The new chairman is likely to be appointed within 15 days. It was in April 2015 that the Ministry of Culture had taken over the premier arts institution, following several complaints about alleged administrative and financial irregularities, and appointed Additional Secretary K K Mittal as the administrator. Mittal’s term was followed by that of joint secretary P L Sahu. As controversies over the Akademi’s functioning refused to die down, the ministry appointed Setty as the new administrator in October 2016 instead of restoring the Akademi’s constitution and getting in a regular chairperson. The Akademi’s General Council and Executive Board are also non-functional since 2013 due to certain court cases. In November 2017, the government asked the CBI to probe the alleged irregularities at LKA. Setty said, "The probe is on and we have cooperated with the CBI.”
