The Uttarakhand Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani met the Union HRD minister Smriti Irani at New Delhi on Wednesday and requested her to reconsider the decision to reduce central funding to State under RMSA.
He said that the contractual RMSA workers of State had to be removed as the Central Government stopped funding their salaries. Advocating the cause of families of these workers, Naithani said that Central Government should reappoint them. He said that the Union Government had earmarked a sum of Rs86.17 crore for annual budget under RMSA out which a sum of only Rs69.18 Crore is released.
Naithani also said that the centre is yet to release funds for teachers salary, education development programmes, and teacher training. He told Irani that Central Government is yet to release an amount of Rs13.63 crores for the construction works of schools in the FY 2013-14. Similarly an amount of Rs57.19 crore is yet to be released in similar head in the year 2104-15. The State Education Minister said that the education department is facing problems to continue many of its programme due to dearth of funds triggered by less central assistance.
Naithani said that a new working plan of Rs80.76 crore was approved by the central government for the year 2014-15 out of which Rs68.57 crore falls under recurring head. He complained that the union government has released only Rs22.98 Crores under this head till May which is very less and due to which work on project is hindered.