News Analysis India

Tag: Funds

  • Bengal govt pauses rural job scheme as Centre holds funds

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA:  In an unprecedented move, the West Bengal government has decided to press an indefinite pause button on the rural job guarantee scheme in the state as the Centre is yet to approve its labour budget for 2022-23 fiscal. Officials in the districts have been asked not to initiate any work under the MGNREGA.

    Sources in Nabanna, the state secretariat, said the decision was followed by the Centre’s decision to withhold the release of Rs 6,500 crore under the MGNREGA after a national-level monitoring team had raised questions over the way funds had been spent in some areas and the state government’s answers were not satisfactory.

    The TMC government’s decision of stalling the works under the scheme is said to be significant as the state will go to panchayat elections next year and the scheme benefits the voters in rural Bengal. Earlier, the state government used to allow the MGNREGA works even if there were delays in the approval of the labour budget by the Centre.

    “This is because the Centre had never stopped the fund flow under the scheme. But this time the unprecedented decision has been taken because the state is not in a position to afford the risk of launching work under the MGNREGA as there is a realisation that the Centre is unlikely to release the funds in near future,” said the official.

    The state government’s decision has already been communicated to the district magistrates who are sending messages to the block development officers (BDOs). “You are requested to proceed very slowly as the labour budget for this FY is yet to be approved. You are again requested not to approve any material-based scheme until further communication,” a message to a BDO reads.

     While the Centre pays the entire wage bill for the people employed under the MGNREGA, the state bears 25 per cent of the material cost of the project under the job scheme.

  • No salary for four months in journalism university as Bhupesh Baghel-govt stops funding

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: The Kushabhau Thakre University of Journalism and Mass Communication in Raipur finds itself in a serious financial quandary as the institution is yet to receive any release of the annual budgetary sanction from the Chhattisgarh government for the ongoing academic session.

    The state journalism university with around 500 students enrolled doesn’t have funds to even pay the monthly salaries to both teaching and non-teaching staff including the vice-chancellor for the past four months.

    “Never before such situation happened when the salaries to staff were not paid with now the fourth month running. We have earlier taken-up the issue with the senior state officials but to no avail. It has been also raised in the state Assembly twice and even Governor Anusuiya Uike personally has spoken to top officials for the release of the budget for salaries. We are still not aware about the reason behind the excessive delay,” said Anand Shankar Bahadur, the Registrar.

    Some university officials and the political observers believed that the apparent reason for the varsity grappling with the financial difficulties or the grants been blocked could be the appointment of Baldev Bhai Sharma, the former editor of ‘Panchjanya’ — the RSS mouthpiece, as the vice-chancellor by the Governor in February last year.

    The Bhupesh Baghel government was then evidently irked with the Rajbhawan’s decision.

    Following this, the Congress-ruled government took a cabinet decision in March 2020 to rename the university from Kushabhau Thakre (father figure of the BJP who contributed in strengthening the party from scratch) as Chandulal Chandrakar university of journalism and mass communication. However, despite the state government urging the Governor for approval, she is yet to give her assent on it.

    Chandrakar was former journalist and a senior Congress leader, among the first to propagate the idea of a separate Chhattisgarh state from undivided Madhya Pradesh.    

    “Owing to such past discord between the state government and the Governor, it appears the university is paying the price. And the entire academic session likely to be over without any grant received. Whatever salaries have been disbursed 3-4 months ago were managed from the students’ fees. It’s absolutely pathetic situation as at one point of time the university had barely Rs 10,000 in its account,” said a senior academician of the university on condition of anonymity.

    When asked, the Secretary (higher education) Dhananjay Dewangan said, “The issue of release of funds remains pending and under consideration with the finance department. We have little idea regarding the delay.”

    During the earlier BJP’s regime led by the then CM Raman Singh, three state universities were formed including the Kushabhau Thakre University of Journalism in 2005.

    “As far as we know the other two state universities — Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University and Pandit Sundarlal Sharma (Open) University, simultaneously came into existence with our institution, didn’t face any issue of release of funds or salaries so far,” said Prof Shahid Ali of Kushabhau Thakre University.

    “Despite all the efforts we haven’t received any grant from the government since April 2020,” the Registrar added.