Release of funds to improve engg colleges delayed

The other states with similar unspent amounts are Andhra Pradesh,West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

TEQIP-II commenced in Maharashtra in December 2011 and the funds will have to be used by December 2014.

Directorate of Technical Education data show more than 50,000 engineering seats have remained vacant in the state despite several rounds of admissions. Experts blamed the vacancies on lack of quality education,faculty and infrastructure and a poor placement record.

TEQIP-II aims to strengthen around 200 competitively selected engineering institutions across the country to improve learning outcomes,employability and research and development.

While the time lag for releasing money is three-five months in Maharashtra,Jharkhand,Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal,Chhattisgarh,Haryana,Karnataka,Punjab and Rajasthan are the worst performers with a delay of eight to 12 months,according to figures released by the HRD ministry.

State officials,however,said these were procedural delays to ensure there is no misappropriation of funds.

“Funds are being released. We have to ensure money is not misappropriated,we have to be extra careful and follow all procedures. Besides,TEQIP-II is of three-year duration,there is time to use the money,” said an official.

The total fund released by the Centre is Rs 30,148.75 lakh and fund available for release by the states is Rs 9,699.57 lakh. The fund available for release by institutes is Rs 480 lakh.

According to figures,the cumulative expenditure till June 30 has been only 29.29 per cent. Maharashtra,HP,Jharkhand,Karnataka and AP have recorded expenditures in the range of 30-40 per cent.