Ludhiana, Nov. 25 -- Despite receiving infrastructure funds in September, development work in five Government Model Schools selected under the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme in Punjab has failed to take off, as not a single bill has been cleared on the newly introduced SNA-SPARSH payment portal.

In September, five model schools across Punjab - one each in Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Sangrur, and two in Patiala - were allocated funds to strengthen their primary and pre-primary sections. Government Model Senior Secondary School, Cemetery Road, Ludhiana, was among the selected institutions.

Under the scheme, each school was allotted Rs.1,00,000 for Bala features as part of pre-primary strengthening and another Rs.1,0...