Punjab CM orders release of arrears of Ashirwad scheme

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today ordered the release of the pending amounts under the Ashirwad scheme, an official said.
He directed the Finance Department to forthwith clear all pending cases for the the months of April-September 2017.
The chief minister also sought a detailed report on the audit of private colleges for the release of post-matric scholarship for SC and ST students, an official spokesperson said.
The decision was taken at a review meeting of the government's welfare schemes, chaired by the chief minister and attended by senior officials of the finance and social welfare departments.
Taking a serious view of the delay in disbursement of payments under various schemes, the chief minister ordered immediate release of the pending amount under the Ashirwad scheme at Rs 15,000 per girl for the April-June 2017 period, to be followed by payment for July-September at the enhanced amount of Rs 21,000, as announced by the government.

The total amount which will be immediately cleared is Rs 44 crore, the spokesperson added.

The meeting also discussed the post-matric scholarship scheme for SC and ST students and reviewed the progress of the audit being done of the 100 per cent Centrally-sponsored scheme amid reports that many private colleges were availing benefits under the scheme against fake enrolment of students.
Of the 900-plus colleges being audited, bunglings have been uncovered so far in 250 colleges, and it is estimated that Rs 500 crore of pilferage could have happened under the scheme.
In another initiative, the chief minister directed release of Rs 9 crore pending for last fiscal and Rs 8 crore for the current fiscal, at the rate of Rs 50 per child, to incentivise SC girl students to attend school.

A total of over 1.53 lakh girls will benefit from the move, said the spokesperson.