Over 1.42 lakh scholarship applications stuck for 5 years Nagpur: Over 1.42 lakh scholarship applications for higher education students under various state government schemes have remained pending verification for up to five years, according to a written reply provided to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil confirmed the backlog came to the government's attention through newspaper reports in December 2025. Of the 9,76,252 applications received over the past five years, 7,80,501 students were awarded scholarships totaling Rs708.41 crore. As of March 9, 2026, 38,628 applications were still pending at the institutional level, while 14,166 remained unresolved at the departmental level. The current academic year, 2025-26, saw the sharpest accumulation of pending applications. Out of 2,07,327 submissions during this period, only 54,836 students had received their scholarships by March 9, 2026. This left 30,332 applications pending at the institutional level and 13,395 unresolved at the departmental level. Patil explained that the higher education directorate issued six circulars between July 2025 and February 2026, directing institutions to clear backlogged applications. Online review meetings were also conducted to address the issue. MLAs questioned the minister about whether colleges and officials responsible for delays should face penalties. Patil stated that no institutional misconduct was found, and the primary cause of the backlog was attributed to students failing to attach required documents, not submitting hard copies to institutions, or providing inaccurate paperwork. A fixed verification deadline could not be established due to the continuous nature of the process.#nagpur #maharashtra_legislative_assembly #chandrakant_patil #rajashri_chhatrapati_shahu_maharaj_scholarship #dr_punjabrao_deshmukh_hostel_allowance_schemes
