 bill no 131 of  2010 the sculptors, artists and artisans of rural areas welfare bill, 2010 by shri hansraj gangaram ahir, mp a billto provide for the welfare of sculptors, artists and artisans in rural areas and for matters connected therewithbe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-first year of  the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the sculptors, artists and artisans of rural  areaswelfare act, 2010short title, extent and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of india5(3) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notificationin the official gazette, appointdefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—10(a) "artisan" means any person engaged in making useful, decorative or artistic items manually from leaves or weeds or bamboo or any other material by traditional means in rural areas for earning his livelihood;(b) "artist" means any person who earns his livelihood by performing arts including music, dance, drama, play, singing to entertain public or displaying of his paintings or artistic skill to public in rural areas;(c) "board" means the national sculptors, artists and artisans of rural areas welfare board set up under section 4;5(d) "fund" means the national sculptors, artists and artisans of rural areas welfare fund set up under section 3;(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under  this act; and10(f) "sculptor" means any person engaged in carving of statues or making of decorative pieces or any other useful items from clay, cement, stone or any other material in rural areas for earning his livelihood 3 (1) the central government shall set up a fund to be known as the national sculptors, artists and artisans of  rural areas  welfare fund(2) the central government and state governments shall contribute to the fund in such proportion, as may be prescribed154 (1) the central government shall set up a board to be known as the national sculptors, artists and artisans of rural areas welfare board(2) the board shall consist of following members, namely:—(a) the union textile minister who shall be its chairperson, ex-officio;20setting up of the sculptors, artists and artisans of rural areas welfare fund setting up of national sculptors, artists and artisans of rural areas welfare board(b) five members representing the non-governmental organisations working for the welfare of sculptors, artists and artisans in rural areas, to be appointed by the central government; and(c) five members representing the sculptors, artists and artisans in rural areas, to be appointed by the central government25(3) the salary and allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of, members of the board shall be such as may be prescribed by the central governmentfunctions of the board5 (1) the board shall administer the fund for the welfare of sculptors, artists and artisans of  rural areas(2) without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the fund shall also be used for,—30(a) payment of compensation to the next of kin of the sculptors, artists and artisans in the event of death during work;| (                                                                         | b                                                                             | ) payment of premium for life insurance;                                              ||---------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| (                                                                         | c                                                                             | ) payment of old age pension;                                                         || (                                                                         | d                                                                             | ) payment of disability allowance;                                                    || 35                                                                        |                                                                               |                                                                                       || (                                                                         | e                                                                             | ) provision of free health care facility to sculptors, artists and artisans and their || family members;                                                           |                                                                               |                                                                                       || (                                                                         | f                                                                             | ) housing facility at subsidised rate; and                                            || 40                                                                        |                                                                               |                                                                                       || (                                                                         | g                                                                             | ) financial assistance to sculptors, artists and artisans for production and          || marketing of their products and organization and advertisement of events |                                                                               |                                                                                       || annual report                                                            |                                                                               |                                                                                       || 6                                                                        | the board shall submit every year a report, in such form and manner as may be |                                                                                       || prescribed, of its activities to the central government                  |                                                                               |                                                                                       || power to make                                                             |                                                                               |                                                                                       || rules                                                                    |                                                                               |                                                                                       || 7                                                                        | (                                                                             | 1                                                                                     || for carrying out the purposes of this act                                |                                                                               |                                                                                       |(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement  of  objects  and  reasonsthe sculptors, artists and artisans working in the rural areas are living in a miserable condition the benefits of development have not reached them in the age of globalisation and information technology, it has become very difficult for these people to earn their livelihood several generations of these sculptors, artists and artisans have spent their whole life to keep alive these traditional arts and for providing other useful articles and entertainment to the community despite public recognition, these people are not able to meet the both ends due to meagre incomein rural areas, the traditional folk arts are popular means of entertainment but with the invasion of television, it is increasingly becoming difficult for them to earn their livelihood even today, these people are engaged in preserving our traditional art government should come forward to provide assistance to these folk artists so that they can lead a dignified lifein view of the miserable condition of these artists, it is the duty of the government to provide social security and other financial assistance to them by formulating and implementing appropriate policies for their welfarethe bill seeks to achieve the above objectivesnew delhi;hansraj  gangaram  ahiroctober 22, 2010 financial  memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for setting up of a fund to be known as the national fund for the welfare of sculptors, artists and  artisans in the rural areas clause 4 provides for setting up of a board to administer the national fund for the welfare of sculptors, artists and artisans in the rural areastherefore, the bill, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is likely to involve an annual recurring expenditure of rupees five hundred crorea non-recurring expenditure of about rupees five hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 7 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the billas the rules will relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character———— a billto provide for the welfare of sculptors, artists and artisans in rural areas and for matters connected therewith————(shri hansraj gangaram ahir, mp)gmgipmrnd—5166ls(s3)—16-11-2010