Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,
Kolkata: 78000 cheques given in pre-matric scholarships to minority students in West Bengal have either been deemed invalid or bounced.
West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (WBMDFC) have disbursed the pre-matric scholarship for the year 2012-13 to nearly 12 lakhs minority students.
Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal during the distribution of pre-matric scholarships to minority students at the Netaji Indore stadium, Kolkata (Photo: Rahul Chattopadhyay).
However, several thousands cheques are reported to have ‘bounced’ from the WBMDFC account due to either insufficient funds or as the cheques reached concerned schools or students after the expiry of the dates, accepted Abu Ayesh Mondal, Chaimen of the WBMDFC when contacted by the TCN.
As a rule a cheque is valid for three months from the date of its issue.
Defending the government, Mondal said that Chief Minsiter Mamata Banerjee, who also, holds the additional portfolio of the Minority Affairs and Madrasa education department, has made special allocation for the scholarship distribution and Rs 15 crore will soon be disbursed.
He blamed the central government for not sending the adequate funds in time, as 75% of the money comes from Delhi.
Mondal further said the West Bengal government plans to target at least 24 lakh students in near future.
He said that he has urged the WB chief minister for allocation of more funds in the state budget.
Abu Ayesh Mondal, WBMDFC Chairman at his office in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
Mondal told TCN that already they have initiated the process of re-issuing cheques and handed over to several students. He also assured that WBMDFC is seriously looking into the matter and will soon resolve the issue.
Generally a scholarship of Rs 1000 or 1075 is given to students. Several thousand affected students from the northern districts of Cooch Bihar, North Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, etc may never get the reimbursement as it would not make any sense for those poor students to spend money in traveling to Kolkata for this small amount, said Abdul Hamid, guardian of one such student from North Dinajpur.
Talking to TCN, Hamid said that he had urged the WBMDFC to accept the ‘bounced’ cheques sent by aggrieved students through registered post, and to reissue cheques after proper validation, but the authority declined.
When TCN posed the same question to the Chairman of the WBMDFC, Abu Ayesh Mondal, he said in clear words that there is no provision to directly send cheques by post and so either the students or their guardians will have to come to the Kolkata office for the collection of the cheques.
Mondal added that the cases of ‘bounced’ cheques are very low compared to the previous Left front government.
Ayesh Mondal was earlier in CPIM and MLA for several terms. He later joined the Trinamul Congress and won the WB Assembly elections in 2011 on the TMC ticket.