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1,500 scooters, meant for girl students, turning to scrap in Rajasthan
An initiative to provide underprivileged girls with scooters has seen no distribution yet with the vehicles simply collecting rust
More than 1,500 brand new scooters, purchased under the Kali Bai Bheel Scooty Scheme in Rajasthan have been gradually turning into scrap due to disuse, reported NDTV.
The scooters were awarded to meritorious girls from underprivileged background in two colleges in Banswara to help them continue higher education under the Kali Bai Bheel Scooty Scheme, launched in 2020.
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To be eligible, girls had to be from families with an annual income of less than ₹2.5 lakh and had to score 65 per cent or more in state board exams, and 75 per cent or more in CBSE exams in class 10th or 12th.
However, the scooters, which cost ₹80,000 per unit and a total of ₹12 crore for taxpayers, have been wasting away due to lack of use on the grounds of Vidyamandir College and the Hardev Joshi Government Girls College since 2023.
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Officials told NDTV, that the delay in distribution was due to a change in government after the BJP won assembly elections last year, overthrowing the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government.
After scooters are assigned to eligible students, a QR code is generated for them by the finance department, however, this process has not initiated yet for the 1,500 scooters.
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Dr Sarla Pandya, principal of Hardev Joshi Government Girls College, told NDTV, “We are the nodal college for distributing scooties under the welfare scheme. They were not distributed because of the model code of conduct and we are now awaiting a go-ahead from the finance department. ”
The Rajasthan government has drawn flak from the Opposition for this delay in implementing the scheme.Banswara MP Raj Kumar Roat of the Bharat Adivasi Party said, “This is criminal neglect by this government, the scooters are rusting and turning to scrap instead of reaching the beneficiaries. It is very sad that the government is not monitoring this situation.”
Rajasthan's minister for tribal welfare Babu Lal Kharadi promised that the scooters would be distributed within a week but could not provide any reasons for the inordinate delay.
Mr Kharadi also assured that action would be taken against the concerned officials regarding negligence of duty and government assets.
