Former Union Minister and ex-chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), Vijay Sampla, has criticized Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema for allegedly presenting misleading facts and figures about the post-matric scholarship scheme.
Sampla asserted that the BJP-led Union government had allocated substantial funds to Punjab for the scholarship scheme, which the state government had not effectively utilized for the benefit of Dalit students.
In a press conference on Monday, Sampla stated, “Cheema claimed that the Centre had not released its 60 percent share of funds for students enrolled under the scheme since 2017. This statement is baseless.”
According to Sampla, data from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment reveals that the Union government released Rs 229 crore for Dalit students in Punjab for the 2020-21 academic year, in addition to Rs 140 crore that the Punjab Government had left unutilized. “The government acknowledged that the Centre’s funds of Rs 140 crore remained unutilized,” he added.
Sampla’s statements underscore ongoing tensions between the state and central governments over the management and disbursement of scholarship funds intended to support Dalit students in Punjab.
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