12-hr dharna by BJD against slash in post-matric scholarship

Leaders of the ruling BJD led by Odisha Finance Minister S B Behera Saturday staged a 12-hour dharna near the Raj Bhavan here in protest against the Centres decision to slash post-matric scholarship fund for scheduled caste students.

BJD sought intervention of President Ram Nath Kovind and urged him to direct the Centre to reconsider the matter and restore the funding pattern to 90:10 for smooth implementation of the post-matric scholarship prgramme for SC students.

In a memorandum submitted to Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal, the BJD said that the change in the funding pattern has affected two lakh scheduled caste pupils in the state.

The post-matric scholarship scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme where in 2016-17 the ministry of social justice and empowerment had providing about 90 per cent of the actual expenditure, while the state government bore the remaining 10 per cent. The central share was Rs 215.80 crore and that of the state was Rs 22.48 crore in that year, the memorandum said.

"It is a matter of concern that from 2017-18, the ministry has revised the liability of the government towards post-matric scholarship wherein the state has to bear more than 80 per cent of the total expenditure. During 2017-18, the state government has to provide Rs 238.28 crore while the ministry allocated a meager Rs 35.12 crore," the memorandum said.

In 2018-19 the state has to provide Rs 238.28 crore while the centre share is projected to be Rs 49.39 crore, it said.

Such an abrupt change in the funding pattern by the ministry has given a severe jolt to the post-matric scholarship programme for the SC students in the state, Behera said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had also written to Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Thawar Chand Gehlot on November 17 on the issue.

Besides Behera, senior BJD MLAs Pramila Mallick, Padmanav Behera and Lal Bihari Himirika participated in the 12-hour dharna.