States siphon off SSA funds

The states, according to senior human resources development ministry officials, are Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and they have been told to make good the loss.

 

"These states will pay back money they had drained off and plough back the same for the SSA project," a senior ministry functionary told IANS. The central government bankrolls 65 percent of funds for the SSA project while the state governments' share is 35 percent.

 

The total budget for SSA stands at Rs.131 billion and the scheme's operation has come under severe flak from India's official auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

 

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Gujarat, which is on the defaulters list, has agreed to pay back all dues towards unaccounted expenditure meant for the SSA project while the other states have agreed to reimburse the money in a phased manner.

 

The CAG report released last year also noted that SSA was not meeting the set targets and the dropout rates in schools were abnormally high.

 

In fact an earlier report that was released in 2006 came down even harder on the flagship programme that aims to universalise elementary education. The report highlighted financial irregularities in 14 states that ran to almost Rs.472 million.