Hyderabad: BRS leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail accused the Congress government of failing to utilise minority education funds, alleging that budget claims have not translated into actual spending.
Abdullah Sohail minority education funds criticism centred on unspent allocations in key schemes. He said the Congress had promised a Rs. 4,000 crore minorities welfare budget and a Minority Sub-Plan ensuring full utilisation. However, he claimed both commitments had failed in implementation.
He said official figures for 2025–26 revealed poor spending, especially in education. Under the Maintenance of Charges/Fees scheme, Rs. 120 crore was allocated and released, but only Rs. 1.20 crore was spent. Similarly, in the Reimbursement of Tuition Fee scheme, only Rs. 68.88 crore was utilised against a Rs. 300 crore allocation. He added that the Pre-Matric scholarship scheme recorded zero expenditure despite budget allocation.
He said academic support programmes were also affected. For study circle coaching, Rs. 4 crore was allocated, but only Rs. 0.03 crore was spent. Training and Employment showed Rs. 5.02 crore expenditure against Rs. 30 crore allocation. He further stated that the Urdu Academy and related institutions used only Rs. 2.04 crore out of Rs. 12 crore, while another segment showed no spending.
Abdullah Sohail minority education funds issue highlights wider gaps
Abdullah Sohail minority education funds concerns extended to broader welfare schemes. He said the Shaadi Mubarak scheme spent Rs. 284.79 crore out of Rs. 650 crore allocation. He pointed out that the Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme had an allocation of Rs. 840 crore but recorded zero expenditure. He also cited TSMFC welfare schemes, where only Rs. 0.83 crore was spent against Rs. 150 crore.
He alleged that these figures exposed gaps between announcements and execution. He said funds meant for students and youth remained unused, while other expenditures continued.
Drawing comparisons, Sohail said fund utilisation under the previous BRS government was higher. He stated that utilisation reached 94.50% in 2019–20 and 96.96% in 2022–23. In contrast, he claimed utilisation fell to 53.48% in 2024–25 and 49.65% in 2025–26 under Congress.
He added that the slowdown began soon after the change in government. Of the total Rs. 1,755.29 crore expenditure in 2023–24, he said Rs. 1,155.75 crore was spent before December 6 under the previous government. Only Rs. 599.54 crore was spent after Congress assumed office, he claimed.
Sohail demanded accountability and corrective action. Sohail said minority students were being affected due to delays in scholarships, fee reimbursement, and training support. He added that budget announcements held little value without proper utilisation.
He urged the government to explain why allocated funds remained unspent and to ensure immediate delivery of promised benefits.