SGPC’S ₹1,106CRORE BUDGET TO FOCUS ON EDU, ‘DHARAM PARCHAR’

AMRITSAR : The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Wednesday passed ₹1,106crore budget for the 2017-18 fiscal with focus on ‘dharam parchar’ (propagation of religion) and education.

This is ₹42 crore more than what the religious body spent in the last fiscal. SGPC general secretary Amarjit Singh Chawla, who read out the budget speech, said ₹227 crore will be spent on educational institutes and ₹73 crore for propagation of religion.

He said any ‘sabat surat’ Sikh who gets selected in the IAS, IPS or any equivalent level of examination, will get a reward of Rs one lakh while those clearing PCS will get ₹75,000.

The SGPC said the subject of religious education has been made mandatory from Class I to V in the SGPC-run schools while scholarships will be given to baptised students studying in such schools and colleges.

The apex gurdwara body said it will pay the half salary of any teacher hired by a private or a government school for religious education. Chawla said the SGPC is currently running over 100 educational institutes, including two universities.

Strong objections were raised by various SGPC members when the SGPC general secretary, who was reading out the budget speech, stopped midway and the budget was passed with a ‘religious slogan’.