Telangana HC issues notices to govt on alleged large-scale fraud under Samagra Shiksha Scheme

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed the State government to respond to allegations of large-scale fraud under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme for the 2024-25 academic year.

The HC Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Ghouse Meera Mohiuddin, issued notices to the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary of the School Education Department, and the State Project Director of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Telangana and asked them to respond in three weeks.

What are the allegations about?

The bench took up a public interest litigation (PIL) initiated by converting a letter from Advocate Rapolu Bhaskar, a High Court practitioner, into a formal PIL.

The PIL demands an investigation into fraud by School Education Department officials, who allegedly collected crores of rupees from bidders before allotting funds to favoured individuals. This misconduct reportedly caused an abrupt stoppage of bidding for 2024-25.

Rapolu Bhaskar contended in his letter that the Government of India, under its National Skills Qualification Framework policy, allocated crores of rupees to establish PM Shri Schools and Samagra Shiksha Schools nationwide.

The initiative aims to impart technical skills to the poor and needy. In Telangana, the State government invited bids for 946 such schools, approving bids for 500.

The petitioner further alleged that Venkata Narasamma, Joint Director-II in the School Education Department, accepted huge bribes from various bidders, resulting in significant losses to legitimate candidates seeking to offer vocational courses.

The court adjourned the matter by three weeks to allow the filing of counter-affidavits.