Budget grant demands worth more than Rs 29,000 crore related to school education, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Backward Classes, Minority welfare department for fiscal year 2017-18 was passed in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha by voice vote.
Kedar Kashyap who holds school education and other portfolios, answered in details about the discussion held regarding the budget grant funds in the assembly.
The budget grant proposals related to School Education department included grant demands of nearly Rs 3083 crore 39 lakh. Besides, grant demands worth nearly Rs 2047 crore 78 lakh for providing financial aid to three-tier panchayat raj institutions under scheduled tribe sub-plan, Rs 1890 crore for scheduled tribe welfare,Rs 14358 crore for Scheduled Tribe Sub-Plan, Rs 1547 crore 39 lakh for construction of roads and bridges under scheduled tribe sub-plan, Rs 5 crore 72 lakh for scheduled caste welfare, Rs 52 crore 50 lakh for financially aiding the urban bodies under scheduled caste sub-plan, Rs 4872 crore 2 lakh for scheduled caste sub-plan, Rs 247 crore 79 lakh for backward classes and minority welfare, Rs 256 crore 81 lakh from scheduled tribe sub-plan, for public works (building construction), Rs 587 crore 82 lakh for providing fiscal aid to three-tier panchayat raj institutions under scheduled caste sub-plan, Rs 73 crore 46 lakh for providing fiscal aid to urban bodies under scheduled caste sub-plan.
Kashyap informed the state assembly that the new budget of school education department includes Rs 5 crore for upgrading of 125 high schools and 125 higher secondary schools. Two divisional offices of School Education Department have been opened in Bastar and Sarguja Revenue Divisions.
Rs 3408 crore 66 lakh have been provisioned for regular salaries of teachers (panchayat cadre), Rs 4 crore 34 lakh for central library in Raipur capital city, Rs 50 lakh for approved posts in 17 new district libraries,Rs 4 crore 77 lakh for 44 primary school buildings, three crore for 28 middle school buildings, Rs 32 crore for 113 high school buildings, Rs 13 crore for construction of buildings of 45 higher secondary schools, Rs 56 lakh for furniture in Madarsas, two crore 50 lakh for organizing jumboori of scouts-guides in Rajnandgaon district, Rs 50 crore 76 lakh for upgrading of model schools, Rs 71 crore 99 lakh for running ashram schools, Rs 352 crore 18 lakh for scholarship scheme, Rs 100 crore for distribution of free textbooks,Rs 562 crore 07 lakh for midday meal programme for school children, Rs 6 crore 61 lakh for initiating the pilot project of soya milk distribution to school children in Kabeerdham and Bastar district. Rs 150 crores have been sanctioned for small repairing works in schools.
About budget proposals of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe development department, Kashyap informed the house that under Mukhyamantri Bal Bhavishya Suraksha Yojana, Prayas Residential School scheme has been started to provide quality education of science and mathematics subjects for meritorious students of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe sections.
From new fiscal year 2017-18, education facility for commerce subject will also be initiated in Raipur based Prayas School, whereas coaching classes for entrance exam of law graduation courses will be started in Bilaspur based Prayas School.
Number of seats in both will increased by 30 each. Budget provision of Rs 50 lakh has been made by the department for this purpose. One crore 8 lakh has been provisioned for increasing the number of seats by 50 in state-level institutions in Raipur, to established coaching centres in Kawardha and Narayanpur districts in new fiscal year 2017-18, under Yuva Career Niraman Yojana.
Three crore has been provisioned in the new budget for construction of a magnificent memorial and museum in the memory of Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh.