HYDERABAD: Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) on Saturday assured members of the Telangana Assembly that all the outstanding fee reimbursement payments to college managements will be cleared in a phased manner to ensure free education for economically backward students.
The state still has outstanding arrears amounting to Rs 5,520.60 crore. In this connection, tokens have been generated for Rs 1,200 crore. She said the processing of bills is ongoing, and payments will be released in phases, the minister assured the Assembly.
Raising the issue during Question Hour, former minister T Harish Rao said that failure to pay these arrears to college managements led to the closure of many junior and degree colleges across Telangana. He pointed out that final-year students are at risk of losing an academic year due to the non-issuance of their certificates.
To safeguard the future of thousands of students and educational institutions, it is crucial that at least Rs 2,000 crore be disbursed by the end of this month to alleviate their difficulties, he said.
BRS MLA Palla Rajeswar Reddy, CPI MLA K Sambasiva Rao, and others expressed concerns over the delayed fee reimbursement dues and demanded that the state government release all arrears immediately. They said many colleges have shut down as managements were unable to pay power bills, water bills, and staff salaries.
To this, Seethakka stated that the previous BRS government had left behind reimbursement arrears of over Rs 4,300 crore. She mentioned that these dues will be disbursed in a phased manner and appealed to college managements to continue issuing certificates to students.
“All college managements are being assured regarding the outstanding payments. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka has already discussed the issue with them,” she disclosed and explained that the allocation of funds for initiatives such as the crop loan waiver scheme has caused the delay in other departments.
Disqualification notices handed to speaker
BRS MLAs KP Vivekananda and Padi Koushik Reddy, along with advocates Kalyan Rao and Ambala Harish, visited the Speaker’s office and handed over notices regarding disqualification petitions as per the Supreme Court’s direction. Both MLAs have approached the Supreme Court for the disqualification of defected MLAs who joined Congress, and the petition is likely to be heard on March 25.