On May 3, 2019 when Odisha was hit by severe cyclonic storm 'Fani', more than 6400 educational institutions across 14 districts suffered extensive damages.
On a priority basis, the State government had then sanctioned a grant of Rs 30 crore from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF ) towards the repair and renovation of Infrastructure at 145 non-government aided colleges in five districts.
However, the State government is yet to receive details of the expenditure that occurred on different heads or the Utilisation Certificates (UC) from the colleges.
As per an official release, only 10 colleges have so far submitted their UCs for Rs 2 crore while the remaining 135 educational institutions are yet to submit details of their expenditure from the grants they had received.
Now, the State Higher Education Department has asked the rest 135 colleges in Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts to submit their UCs for the remaining Rs 28 crore grant.
Apart from the UCs, the department has also directed the colleges to refund the unused balance amount as early as possible.
A total of 6,498 schools were damaged in cyclone Fani in Odisha. The School and Mass Education department had then assessed a loss of Rs 417.83 crore due to the cyclone.
Besides, the cyclone, which adversely affected over 165 lakh people in Odisha, had destroyed sports infrastructure worth crores of rupees in its trail of destruction in Cuttack district.