RTI response reveals Telangana spent ₹800 crore out of ₹2,997.14 crore earmarked for minorities welfare in 2024-25

Fri Dec 13 02:52:57 UTC 2024: **Telangana Government Faces Scrutiny Over Low Spending on Minority Welfare Schemes**

Hyderabad, December 13, 2024 – The Telangana government has spent just ₹800 crore out of a budgeted ₹2,997.14 crore allocated for minority welfare schemes in the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to an RTI response. This revelation has sparked criticism from activists and students.

A significant portion of the expenditure, ₹378.42 crore, went towards salaries and administrative costs within the Telangana Minorities Educational Institutions Society (TMEIS), which manages over 200 schools and junior colleges. However, key schemes saw drastically low disbursement. Only ₹4.49 crore was spent from a ₹300 crore allocation for tuition fee reimbursement (RTF), and ₹2.86 crore from a ₹120 crore allocation for maintenance of tuition fees (MTF). No funds were utilized for the pre-matric scholarship scheme. While ₹650 crore was allocated for the Shaadi Mubarak scheme, only ₹215 crore was spent. Even the Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation, allocated ₹300 crore for loans to small businesses, spent a mere ₹80,000.

Activist M. A. Akram, who filed the RTI request, highlighted that approximately half the total expenditure was for administrative costs. He criticized the low spending, particularly in light of the Congress party’s election promises on minority welfare.

Students are also expressing concerns. Shaik Aslam, a final-year engineering student, reported delays in fee reimbursement for three years, a situation echoed by many others. The Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) Telangana State President, Mohammed Faraz Ahmed, stated that delays in fee reimbursement are a persistent issue, worsening in recent years, with colleges holding back certificates due to non-payment. The problem, they note, existed under the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government as well. The low utilization of funds allocated for minority welfare schemes raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to its stated objectives.