As Kerala cabinet committee set to review PM SHRI scheme, centre halts Rs 319 crore grant

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government which has kept on hold the implementation of PM SHRI scheme following pressure from CPI and various student wing is now preparing a letter to the Union Ministry of Education informing it that a cabinet sub-committee has been constituted to review the conditions of the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme.

The letter, which will be dispatched shortly, also states that the project will remain on hold until the committee submits its report.

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However, legal experts are of the view that the state cannot cannot completely refrain itself from the MoU as there has been a common understanding between the state and the central government over the matter.

Kerala is yet to begin the process of selecting schools for the scheme, as no follow-up instructions have been received from the Centre despite the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The initial step involves publishing a list of schools that meet the prescribed criteria. Only these schools will be eligible to apply for inclusion under the scheme. A state-appointed committee will then finalise the schools where the project will be implemented.

CPI leader raises doubts over cancellation of MoU

CPI Central Secretariat member K Prakash Babu has argued that only the Centre has the authority to scrap or freeze the PM SHRI MoU. In an article written in Janayugam daily after the Chief Minister's announcement on freezing the PM SHRI scheme, he expressed doubts about the feasibility of such a move.

Babu pointed out that the Union Ministry of Education must issue a 30-day notice to terminate or freeze the project. He described the clause granting unilateral authority to one party as “undemocratic and legally unsound.”

Centre freezes allocation of Rs 319 crores 

Meanwhile, the Centre has withheld the first instalment of dues promised under the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) scheme, just days after the state government decided to freeze PM SHRI procedures.

Following the MoU signing, SSK had submitted necessary documents to the Union Ministry of Education for the release of the first instalment — ₹319 crore — which was expected on Wednesday.

However, after media reports on the state’s decision to freeze the project, the fund release was stalled even before the Centre received official communication of the move.

During earlier discussions in Delhi, it was agreed that pending dues amounting to ₹970 crore since 2023 would be released once Kerala sign the PM SHRI scheme