Bhubaneswar: Praveen Kumar Giri, a former student of C V Raman Global University (CGU), Bhubaneswar, who had won a silver medal at the 2022 global WorldSkills Competition (WSC) while representing the country as well as Odisha, has not yet received the award money that the Odisha govt had announced back then. Giri had earned the recognition in Water Technology.
In May 2022, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced a prize money of Rs 1 crore for winning the gold in the WorldSkills Competition, the Times of India had reported. The former Odisha CM had made the announcement while felicitating winners of IndiaSkills competition in Bhubaneswar. He had announced that from the 2022 edition onwards gold medal winners from the state in the world meet would be awarded Rs 1 crore, silver medallist would get Rs 50 lakh and bronze winners would be given Rs 25 lakh.
Before the announcement was made, the prize money amount for the skill competition winners as part of Biju Patnaik Dakhyata Award was Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh.
Patnaik had also announced that the institution, which would nurture the gold medal winner, would also get Rs 5 crore for setting up the Biju Patnaik Centre of Excellence. It has been four years now, Giri claims he is yet to get the award money.
“Despite completing all required procedures, my sanctioned award money has remained unpaid. Over the past years, I have consistently pursued this via formal emails to the World Skill Center (WSC), petitions on state grievance portals, and RTI applications,” Giri, who is now pursuing masters in Germany said.
He has also alleged that the present BJP-led government in the state was also reluctant to release the award money. “Following the change in government in Odisha, official responses from the Skill Development Department and political leadership, including Skill Minister Shri Sampad Chandra Swain, have indicated that since the announcement was made under the previous administration, the current government is not actively pursuing it,” he said.
“An official award policy announced by the Chief Minister’s Office is an institutional commitment made by the Government of Odisha, not a private promise by a specific political party. Institutional promises should transcend political transitions; otherwise, young achievers who bring laurels to the state are left stranded,” he added.