Highlighting the palpable indifference of the MDA government towards the teachers of Meghalaya, the opposition Trinamool Congress (TMC) has exposed the irregularities in the release of funds by the ruling National People’s Party (NPP)-led government for payment of salary of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) teachers.
The irregularities surfaced after the Union Minister of State for Education Annpurna Devi replied to TMC opposition chief whip’s letter, George Lyngdoh who had sought information on the delay in releasing the funds for the SSA teachers in the state.
In her letter, Devi informed the TMC legislator that an amount of Rs. 52.78 crore under the SSA was released as 2nd installment on March 31, 2022.
“In the Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting by the Ministry of Education, Rs. 33.98 Crore was approved as a state share,” the letter read.
“However, the State Government’s budget on PFMS (platform for e-payment of subsidy under Direct Benefit Transfer) only showed ₹31.97 crore at the time of processing of release of the 2nd instalment,” the Union Minister pointed out
While the state was eligible for Rs. 287.76 crore of Central share in 2021-22, the Union Minister said the government only provisioned Rs. 271.71 crore as the release of funds.
“This implies that significantly less amount of money was budgeted and provisioned by the State Government,” Devi said.
SSA teachers had been protesting in Meghalaya due to the non-receipt of their salary for five
months-from February 2022 to June 2022.
