Centre not releasing funds; Departments told to keep in check avoidable expenses: Bihar Minister

"The BJP-ruled Central government is playing politics over schemes. It has stopped releasing its share for various schemes in social, education and infrastructure sectors of Bihar," Mr. Chaudhary said.

Alleging that the Centre was showing reluctance to release funds under various welfare schemes, Bihar Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said on September 13 that the State government would have to keep in check avoidable expenses to ease burden on the exchequer. The State was struggling to get its "rightful dues", he said.

"The BJP-ruled Central government is playing politics over schemes. It has stopped releasing its share for various schemes in social, education and infrastructure sectors of Bihar," Mr. Chaudhary told PTI.

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“The Centre has not released a single penny of its share under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) in the current financial year,” the Minister claimed.

Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan, an integrated scheme for school education, is funded by the Centre and the States in a 60:40 ratio.

"In the current fiscal (2022-23), the State government has so far released ₹3,777 crore for paying salary to teachers under the scheme. No fund has been released by the Centre so far," he said.