The Punjab government Monday rejected the Centre's proposed 60:40 fund-sharing pattern for the Post-Matric Scholarship scheme for SC students, saying it is a "mockery" of the BJP government's commitment to uplift the SC/ST sections of society.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh demanded restoration of the old scheme, under which states had to contribute about 10 per cent.

Till financial year 2018-19, the states were contributing a little over 10 per cent of the total scheme amount of Rs 600 crore, he said.

However, the Centre had subsequently absolved itself of its share to put the entire fiscal burden on the states, raising their annual committed liability from Rs 60 crore to Rs 750 crore, Singh said in a statement here.

Against approximately Rs 75 crore, which the state would have been required to pay under the old sharing formula, it would now have to shell out around Rs 300 crore as it share of the scheme, he said, adding that the resultant burden on states was huge.

Under pressure from the states, the central government has apparently agreed to fix its share now but the same does not match the original sharing scheme, the chief minister said.

He termed it as "totally unacceptable and a mockery" of the BJP-led NDA government's stated commitment to uplift the SC/ST sections of society.

Singh said he wrote to the Union minister for social justice and empowerment in June, seeking review of the guidelines of the proposed new funding pattern.

He said the proposed pattern defeated the very objective of the scheme, besides imposing an unmanageable burden on the state government.

By fixing its share in the scheme at only 60 per cent, instead of the earlier about 90 per cent, the central government had "failed" to address the concerns of the states with regard to this crucial matter, the chief minister said.

While the state government was totally committed in providing free education to SC students under the scholarship scheme, and was ready to bear the entire cost of it, it was "shameful" on the part of the Centre to wriggle out of its responsibility, he said.

Singh urged the Centre to withdraw its proposal, which it has sent to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, and look at it again, keeping in view the overall interest of the SC students.

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