Where did scheme funds go? Centre asks Punjab govt

CHANDIGARH:  The Centre has asked the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government to return the unspent portion of the central share of Rs 191.58 crore given to the state under the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme as the state government has failed to provide the utilisation certificate for the same to the central government. 

It has been almost two years since the state government was given this amount by the Centre but the former has not shared any details of where the money has been spent. The Centre wrote a letter in this regard to the state government on August 30. However, the state government has not responded or deposited the money yet.

“It is informed that a central share of Rs 191.58 crore was released to the state government under Post Matric Scholarship Scheme (SC) for the year 2021-22. However, payment of central share was released directly to be beneficiaries during the year 2021-22,” Parveen Kumar Thind, Director, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, wrote in a letter sent to the director of the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment & Minorities of the Punjab government.

“In this regard it is to inform that this department has not received updated utilization certificates against the release made in the year 2021-22. In view of the above state government is requested to kindly deposit the unspent amount (if any) in the consolidated fund of India and send the updated utilization certificates to this department at the earliest,” the letter added. 

Before coming to power in the state, the AAP had last year held statewide protests over the alleged multi-crore post-matric scholarship scam. In July this year, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had ordered a probe into the alleged irregularities in the scheme that had surfaced during the previous Congress regime in the state.