Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on Friday ordered vigilance probe in the alleged multi-crore scam in Post Matric Scholarship Scheme. After the initial enquiry by the Technical Education and Industrial Training department, 180 technical institutes in the State have been found on wrong footing in disbursement of the scholarships meant for SC/ST students.
Answering a query on the issue of pilferage in Post-matric Scholarship Scheme, Technical Education and Industrial Training Minister Madan Mohan Mittal admitted that under the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme around 6126 students of various Polytechnics and ITI’s have been found to have got scholarships to the tune of 18.33 crores by adopting unfair means.
Mittal told the House 4 Polytechnics and 4 Engineering colleges have been barred from taking admission of new students from the next session i.e., 2016-17. He said that a total of 116 Polytechnics and 64 ITI’s have been given show cause notices and after perusal of their answer, the institutes found guilty would be put in no-admission zone and will not be allowed to take students for next session.
Mittal also accepted that the figures are tentative and the department was still looking in the matter and this may rise further.
The matter was brought to the notice of the House by Justice Nirmal Singh, who categorically alleged that the Post-matric Scholarship Scheme had become a ‘Gold Mine’ for private universities and colleges, imparting technical education in the state. He said that due to unfair practices by private technical institutes in disbursement of the scholarships, the deserving candidates of backward classes were deprived of their dues, while the institutes were making big money.
Raising demand of recovery of the money already disbursed in the name of fake or dual admissions, Justice Nirmal Singh said that the culprits of misappropriating the scholarship money should be brought to books and legal action should be taken against them.
Supporting the issue, Pawan Tinnu demanded formation of an all party committee of the House to probe the matter. He said that according to his information around 15000 thousand cases of fake disbursal have been found and the quantum of scam may cross Rs 50 crores.
Reluctant to include outsiders in the probe, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal intervened and said that the matter will be handed over to Vigilance bureau for further probe.