Andhra Pradesh under the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has turned into a cash-strapped state wherein it is being reported that many departments are still unable to pay salaries to the employees. In this scenario, it is surprising that the CM has gone ahead with Jagananna Vidya Deevena scheme and disbursed Rs 686 crore was deposited in the accounts of 11.03 lakh students.
But certain sections of media is accusing that Jagan was diverting the funds of NTR Health University and also Abhayahastham. If this is true, then it could be disastrous for the state because diverting funds from one programme to fulfil his welfare scheme is not totally acceptable!
The CM said the government is embarking on a good program and providing full fee reimbursement to 11.03 lakh students. He said the first installment was deposited on April 19, 2021, followed by the second tranche on July 29 directly in the mothers’; accounts. Jagan said that poverty should not be a barrier to education and opined that government will offer fee reimbursement for everyone in the family.
He said the fees deposited in the bank accounts must be paid to the colleges failing which the government had to pay directly to the colleges. “The number of students enrolling in colleges for higher education has increased,” said the CM. Meanwhile,the state government has so far paid a total of Rs 6,259 crore in fees, including Rs 1,778 crore owed by the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government when he took over as the CM. It is a known fact that any quarterly fee is paid as soon as that quarter is over. Jagan has been giving the highest priority to the education sector. As part of this, Rs 34,753.17 crore was spent on 1,97,38,694 students under various education schemes.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the employees’ associations of NTR Health University in Vijayawada sat on a dharna in the university premises on today in protest over the decision of Jagan government to divert Rs 250 crore university funds to state government.
It is a known fact that NTR Health University has bank deposits of Rs 250 crore and the state government has eyed these funds. It is reported in media that the Jagan government brought the university authorities under pressure to transfer funds to state government and it is said that the Vice Chancellor of the University succumbed to pressure and transferred the funds. Neither government nor the university officials are confirming on this, but the employees association is accusing the state government of taking away their funds!
Similarly, it is being reported that Jagan government has withdrawn Rs 2,000 crore premium amounts deposited with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) leading to cancellation of
Abhayahastham programme. It is being reported that the LIC officials said that with the agreement getting terminated, they had transferred the entire remaining amount with them in connection with Abhayahastham to Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP), the nodal agency for the scheme.
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The LIC also made it clear that they do not hold any responsibility towards the implementation of the scheme like processing the pending claims of the beneficiaries or even the future claims. The talk in political circles of Vijayawada is that Jagan has diverted the funds from NTR University and Abhayahastham to his Vidya Deevena scheme. Under such circumstances was it an immediate need is the question that everyone is pondering upon!
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