Bhubaneswar, Feb. 4: Authorities of the Raajdhani Engineering College here today said the Bihar government had released Rs 17.39 lakh as scholarship for students from the state.

This comes amid allegations by Dalit students from Bihar that the college is threatening to throw them out over non-payment of dues.

As many as 83 Dalit students had taken admission to the college in 2014 under the Bihar government's Dalit Students Stipend Scheme.

The college authorities said they had asked the Bihar government to furnish the names of the students for whom the scholarship funds had been released.

"In September 2014, the Bihar government had issued the notification for scholarship for 2014-15. Subsequently, we forwarded the application of the candidates to the Bihar government. We had also written a number of letters to the chief minister and chief secretary of Bihar to release the funds as soon as possible. On Wednesday, we received Rs 17,39,770 through the Real Time Gross Settlement," said director of the technical institute G.S. Mishra.

The Real Time Gross Settlement is a system through which funds can be transferred between bank accounts.

The college authorities said that out of the 83 students from Bihar, nine were studying management, 24 BTech and the rest enrolled in diploma courses.

The students said they had taken admission through a Bihar-based consultancy, which disappeared after one year. "We have tried to contact the consultancy, but no one is available," said a student.

Students alleged that the college authorities had been threatening to throw them out if they failed to pay their dues. "The authorities have been asking us to go back home and arrange money if we want to pursue our studies. The parents of some of the students have also started selling their properties to pay the dues. We urge the Bihar government to release our scholarships at the earliest," said Rupesh Kumar, a management student from West Champaran district in Bihar.

On the other hand, the college authorities denied the allegations and said they had never debarred any student from attending classes. "We have been providing them lodging and boarding facilities for the past 20 months without bothering about their dues. The management students also took part in the placement drive recently," said Mishra.

The students apprehend that they may not be eligible to join their jobs even after being selected in the campus recruitment drive. "Two of us have been selected in the placement drive so far. However, all our original certificates are with the college authorities. So, we apprehend that they may not provide us our certificates if our dues are not cleared," said another management student.