Anil Kumar M for Times News Network

Bangalore, Apr 12: Should the land earmarked for actor Rajkumar's memorial at the Kanteerava Studio here be in the name of the actor's trust, or vest with the state government?

In this tug-of-war between the government and the actor's family, the memorial is yet to be constructed even as the first death anniversary of Rajkumar is on April 12.

CM H D Kumaraswamy had promised Rs 10 crore for the memorial and in 2007-08 budget, Rs 3 crore has been allocated. Thespian's wife Parvathamma told TOI she is unhappy over the way government has handled the matter.

"Despite a formal letter sent to them on the memorial in Kanteerava Studio, government is yet to act,"she said.

Kumaraswamy, during Rajkumar's 11th day ceremony on April 18, had assured them that the formalities will be completed in six months.

But it has not moved an inch. An upset Parvathamma said:"We'll be more than happy if the government washes its hands of the issue.

We, the film industry people, are ready to take it up on our own."The memorial is expected to have a permanent exhibition to showcase the idol's contribution to the industry. It will also have movies, dialogue, scripts, songs and other memorabilia associated with Rajkumar. Rajkumar's family says it requires five acres of land to give shape to ideas planned around the memorial. "So far, only one meeting on its construction has taken place. The CM himself being the committee chairman has not responded to a single call out of the 15 we have made,"family sources said.

Rajkumar's family feels non-accordance of the request is nothing but a disrespect shown to the actor. Government sources said the only point of disagreement with the family is that the latter want the 5-acre land to be transferred to Rajkumar's trust, but the memorial's upkeep should be done by the government. The government wants the land vested with it.