Centre owes Bengal about Rs 3,288 cr under Sarva Shiksha Mission: Min

Kolkata: State Education minister Bratya Basu said on Tuesday that the state’s due from the Centre under Sarva Siksha Mission (SSM) since 2022-23 is to the tune of Rs 3288.23 crore with not a single penny being disbursed under the scheme in the 2024-25 fiscal.

During the question-answer session in the state Assembly, the minister while responding to a query from a BJP legislator regarding the repair of a school building which is in dilapidated condition said: “Under SSM Rs 3288.23 crore is due from the Centre. You should all ask the Centre to disburse our dues, otherwise, the risk of collapse of such school buildings will be very much there.”

As per data from the Education department that was submitted in the state Assembly, the Centre had committed to disburse Rs 1629.96 crore under SSM and had released Rs 1522.04.

In the year 2023-24, Rs 311.29 was released against a commitment of Rs 1745.80 crore and in the ongoing 2024-25 fiscal, the Centre’s commitment was the same Rs 1745.80 crore as in the last fiscal but till date the release has been zero.

According to sources in the state Education department the Centre has not released funds under SSM on the ground that the state has not signed MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Union government on the Prime Minister (PM) Shri scheme.

“In the PM Shri scheme, the Central’s share is 60 per cent while the state’s share is 40 per cent. So why should it be christened as PM Shri? It will either be called PM-CM Shri or by any other name.

Moreover, this scheme has nothing to do with SSA through which Mid Day meal is provided to students,” a senior official of the state Education department said.