Sushil Modi hits back at Bihar FM for flagging SSA ‘fund crunch’

Modi said that under the SSA, Bihar has been receiving largest chunk of the funds after Uttar Pradesh and the release of central share has been regular.

BJP leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who held the finance portfolio in the Nitish Kumar government for over a decade, on Saturday hit back at state’s finance minister Vijay Choudhary, accusing him of misleading the people by blaming the Centre for shortfall in release of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA).

BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi. (ANI)

“SSA is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented in partnership with the states and provides an additional support to them for improving quality of education. However, it does not replace the responsibility of the state government to make enough provisions in their budget for education, which also includes payment of teachers’ salary,” he said.

Modi said that under the SSA, Bihar has been receiving largest chunk of the funds after Uttar Pradesh and the release of central share has been regular. “Fund release also depends on a state’s opening balance, release of commensurate state share, pace of expenditure, submission of audit reports and utilization certificates and other such criteria laid down in the scheme,”’he said.

Modi said that in the financial year 2021-22, the proposed central share was ₹3,826 crore, of which ₹3,450 crore was released, the reason for shortfall being huge unspent balance and less expenditure on the part of Bihar. In the current financial year, the central share to be released to Bihar is ₹4,185 crore for elementary education, ₹470 crore for secondary and Rs. 4.37 crore for teacher education. However, there have been issues resulting in non-release of central share this year and the state has been regularly apprised about it,” he said.

Modi, currently a Rajya Sabha member, said Bihar has not even mapped all implementing agencies (IAs) on public finance management system (PFMS) portal, which is an essential requirement prescribed by ministry of finance. “Besides, the state has shown NIL expenditure in secondary and teacher education and there has been low expenditure in non-recurring head of elementary education,” he said.

Modi said that various letters and e-mails, including two on August 5 and September 9 this year, have been sent to the state to fulfil the conditions for release of funds.