Telangana Seeks Vacation of Stay on DBT Fee Order
After hearing both sides, the court adjourned the matter to July 9 for further hearing
Hyderabad: The state government has moved the Telangana High Court seeking to vacate the interim stay on key provisions of GO Ms. No. 9 governing fee collection under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for professional colleges.
The state argued that continuation of the interim order would affect engineering admissions scheduled to begin from July 10 and could create difficulties for students from poor and middle-income backgrounds in paying tuition fees.
Justice Juvvadi Sridevi had in the last week of June stayed the operation of Clauses 5.2(e), 10.2, 10.4 and 12.1(a) of the government order, observing that they were similar to provisions in GO Ms. No. 7, which had also been stayed earlier. The interim order was issued while hearing petitions filed by private professional college managements challenging the fee collection guidelines and alleging non-payment of reimbursement dues.
On Wednesday, the court heard arguments on the state’s plea to vacate the stay but did not conclude the hearing. The government submitted that the interim order could disrupt the admission process and place students at risk if they are required to pay fees upfront. It said funds for the first phase of admissions would be released shortly, while acknowledging pending arrears.
Senior counsel for the state said the government was asking colleges to wait until reimbursement amounts were credited directly into students’ accounts.
Senior counsel for the private colleges opposed the plea, arguing that the state had sought to vacate the stay without filing counter-affidavits in the main petitions. They contended that the government was attempting to revisit the interim order instead of complying with it.
The colleges also raised concerns over the DBT mechanism, stating there was no assurance that students would remit fees to institutions after receiving funds. They further claimed that reimbursement dues had accumulated to around ₹2,900 crore and pointed out that only ₹250 crore had been allocated, with no clear timeline for clearing arrears.
After hearing both sides, the court adjourned the matter to July 9 for further hearing.