K’taka govt cracks whip against 8 agencies that failed to provide skill education

PTI, Jan 18, 2024, 12:01 PM IST

The Karnataka government has cracked the whip against eight project implementing agencies that have failed to provide skill education to candidates even after getting financial aid from the state government under the ‘Deen Dayal Grameen Kaushalya Yojana’, and instructed officials to blacklist them and file criminal cases immediately.

Sharan Prakash Patil, the Minister for Medical Education, Skill Development and Livelihood in a meeting here on Wednesday expressed his displeasure against the agencies that have failed to implement the Government’s ambitious scheme aimed at providing vocational training to those studying diploma, ITI and other job-oriented courses.

He instructed officials to register criminal cases against them in the jurisdictional police stations to review the progress of the National Rural Livelihood Mission. Patil also instructed officials to blacklist errant project implementing agencies (PIA) immediately and to stop issuing tenders to such firms in future.

He directed the officials to recover Rs 74.65 crore with interest from the PIAs for violating the rules of this scheme being implemented jointly by the central and state governments to provide vocational training for candidates studying job-oriented courses in rural and urban areas.

The agencies that have failed to achieve the desired goal will be considered as defaulters and action will be taken against officials who have released funds to these companies, he said.

The Minister asked the officials to collect complete details of some of these agencies that are functioning from other states, and inform the Centre and prevent them from receiving any funds. He also ordered a probe against unqualified agencies promising to provide training by giving false information and warned of strict disciplinary action against officials if they fail to act.

Pulling up the officials over laxity in implementing the scheme, Patil warned of strict action against them.

”The concerned officials must visit the training centres at the district and taluk levels every month and review the progress. And the lower-rung officials must submit reports to the senior officers. I will be holding monthly meetings to review the progress and will not hesitate to act against those showing laxity,” warned the Minister.

The scheme was started on September 25, 2014 on the 98th birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya in a launch by the Prime Minister to help unemployed youth find jobs and achieve something on their own.

This scheme is being implemented by the Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood department and aimed at providing free vocational training or skill education to youth aged 18 to 35 years from across the country and help them get employed in the private sector.