Over 1.42 lakh scholarship applications stuck for 5 years | Nagpur News
Nagpur: Around 1,42,383 scholarship applications under various state govt schemes for higher education students were pending verification for up to 5 years, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was told in a written reply recently. Higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil confirmed the backlog came to the govt’s notice through newspaper reports in December 2025. Of 9,76,252 applications received over the past 5 years, 7,80,501 students were paid scholarships worth Rs708.41 crore. As of March 9, 2026, 38,628 applications remained pending at the institution level and 14,166 at the department level. The current academic year showed the sharpest backlog. Of 2,07,327 applications in 2025-26, only 54,836 students so far received scholarships, with 30,332 pending at the institution level and 13,395 at the department level. The higher education directorate issued circulars 6 times between July 2025 and February 2026, directing institutions to clear pending applications, and online review meetings were also held, Patil said. MLAs asked minister whether colleges and defaulting officials should be penalised for holding up applications. The minister said colleges were not found to be at fault; the delay was primarily due to students not attaching required documents, not submitting hard copies to institutions, and submitting inaccurate paperwork. A fixed verification deadline could not be set as the process was continuous, Patil said.On the Rajashri Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj scholarship and Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh hostel allowance schemes, Patil said no complaints of denial or forced fee collection were received under either scheme. No timeline for clearing the current backlog was provided in the reply.
