As many as 780 colleges and educational institutions in Pune district have yet to furnish details pertaining to the disbursement of scholarship fund amounts meant for backward class students despite an Enforcement Directorate (ED) notice directing 1,500-odd educational institutions in the district to this effect.
A Right to Information application filed by student leader Kuldeep Ambekar has revealed that a substantial scholarship fund amount between 2010 and 2017 meant for students from the SC, ST and OBC communities has yet to be accounted for by these institutions.
Following complaints of irregularities in the disbursement of scholarships meant for backward community students, the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis government had ordered a probe by the ED. The directorate had directed 1,500-odd educational institutes in Pune district to furnish details of the scholarship funds.
On October 4 last year, the ED had accordingly directed the Pune division of the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department to gather details pertaining to the financial transactions involving the disbursement of the scholarship funds.
A week later, on October 12, the department had issued notices to educational institutions requesting details of students, course names, and money allotted to them from the State’s scholarship fund, to be submitted by November 14.
Observing that half of the educational institutions in Pune had yet to furnish details to the Social Justice Department despite the expiry of the November deadline, Mr. Ambekar alleged that several SC, ST and OBC students had yet to receive their scholarship amounts totalling more than ₹1,000 crore over the seven-year period.
“These funds are generally given in an ‘offline’ manner, that is instead of directly being deposited into students’ accounts, they are routed by the Social Justice Department to the colleges, which in turn give them to the students. So, when students petition the department for their scholarships, the department says it has already given the funds to the respective colleges. Typically, colleges use this money for their development works or divert it to some student activity,” alleged Mr. Ambekar, a founding member of volunteer outfit Student Helping Hands, and leader of the student wing of the Loktantrik Janata Dal United.
He said the list of the institutions yet to furnish details includes noted ones like D.Y. Patil College, Fergusson College and Bharati Vidyapeeth.
A student, requesting anonymity, said, “When I asked the college authorities to give my due scholarship amount, the authorities told me the funds are with the Social Justice Department. When I visited the department, they said they had already given the funds to the college. So, we are being tossed about like ping-pong balls.”
Mr. Ambekar said he recently met Dhananjay Munde, State Minister for Social Justice and Special Assistance, on this issue and urged him to order an ED inquiry into the matter.
Meanwhile, Vijay Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioner of the Pune division of the Social Justice Department, said they had already furnished details received from institutions that had complied with their directive, to the ED.
“I cannot comment on what the ED’s next course of action will be. We have already apprised them from our end,” he said.
