Mumbai: In a shocker, education minister Vinod Tawde has said that the state has cancelled its earlier plan to fund schools that completed 100 years due to paucity of funds. The state had declared Rs 10 lakh each to these schools, and a total amount of Rs 10 crore was kept aside for this purpose in the 2017 budget. Mr Tawde in a written reply to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Hemant Takle said that the government had dropped the scheme due to lack of money.
Mr Takle, who had demanded information about the implementation of scheme from the state government in the legislative council, lambasted the state government over the issue and called it ‘insensitive’. “The government, which spent Rs 300 crore for advertisements does not have Rs 10 crore for schools that have contributed to the state’s development over the last 100 years,” said Mr Takle.
The Asian Age could not reach Mr Tawde for his response at the time of going to print. The paper also contacted his PRO and PA, but couldn’t get their response.
Mr Tawde’s letter to Mr Takle reads, “Looking at the state’s current economic status, resources to raise funds, the needs and current priorities of the state government, it has been decided that decision of this scheme stands cancelled.”
Stating that education is a basic need for any state, Mr Takle said, “If the schools have richly contributed in development of state for a century, it is duty of government to keep its word. The government’s reply about priority is completely wrong. What is priority? Spending on marketing,” asked Mr Takle.
Maharashtra has been struggling to raise funds for various projects and schemes, including the Rs 34,000 crore farmer's loan waiver. The state’s debt has crossed Rs 4.5 lakh crore and the government has come under fire from opposition parties over this. At the same time, the state’s public relations department’s budget of around Rs 28 crore has been at the centre of controversy.
