‘Disheartened’ with government reply, House panel seeks measures to fix delay in scholarship disbursal

Of the 25 recommendations, the government accepted 56% or 14 of them. The panel dismissed the government’s response on four issues and reiterated its recommendations on them. These pertained to delay in disbursal of scholarships, utilisation of the budget for free coaching scheme, revising family income ceiling for the free coaching scheme and setting up of special police stations under the Prevention of Atrocities Act.

On the issue of delay in disbursal of different scholarships, the panel had noted in its March report that the funds were released in the next academic year as States and Union Territories were unable to complete the formalities of processing applications. In reply, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment attributed the delay to the time taken at the level of some states to finalise the verification process. “This leads to delays in processing and disbursement of central share,” the department said, the panel noted.

The committee said the department has time and again given this routine reply that the national scholarship portal opens in June for inviting applications and some states take additional time. “The committee (members) are disheartened with the reply as they had expected the Department to find some solution to the persisting problem, but the students have again been left at the mercy of the States,” the panel said in the report.

On the setting up of special police stations, the committee noted that only seven States/Union Territories had established them even after more than three decades of the enactment of the Prevention of Atrocities Act. In response to the panel’s March recommendations on the issue, the government had informed that it had submitted a proposal for enhanced budgetary support before the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) for strengthening the implementation of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989.

The House panel recommended that necessary steps may be taken for early approval of the proposal sent to the EFC to make a provision in the outlay for 2026-27 to 2030-31 cycle to establish special police stations.