RS member Satnam Singh Sandhu raises issue of post-matric scholarship arrears in Punjab

The Rajya Sabha member said that for three years, the then Punjab government avoided paying its liabilities and even after the intervention of the National SC Commission, it did not take any action

BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu on Tuesday raised the issue of arrears of Post-Matric Scholarships for SC students in Punjab.

Satnam Singh Sandhu.

Raising the issue through special mentions, Sandhu, while highlighting the steps taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the betterment of marginalised communities, spoke about the plight of SC students in Punjab, “The previous state government in Punjab did injustice to these students. Despite the liability of the state government, ₹1084.90 crore was not released to the SC students of Punjab. The scholarship amount was withheld by the then government of Punjab from 2017 to 2019,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha member said that for three years, the then Punjab government avoided paying its liabilities and even after the intervention of the National SC Commission, it did not take any action. “Now the state government has decided to release 40%, or say ₹366.00 crore, for the session 2017-19, whereas the balance 60%, which comes to ₹718.90 crore is still pending,” he added.

Sandhu asked, “Whose liability is this? Due to the withholding of the scholarship, countless students dropped out and many colleges were closed.” He demanded that the liability of the pending post-matric scholarship amount should be fixed and this amount should be released to the colleges immediately.