Ministries junk sub-Plan for Dalits

[Tanveer Kazi]

Business Standard

 

Ministries junk sub-Plan for Dalits

 

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=287454&leftnm=3&subLeft=0&chkFlg

BS Reporter / New Delhi June 12, 2007

Dalits have been denied Rs 20,510 crore in this Budget as ministries have failed to set aside the mandated proportion of funds under the scheduled castes sub-Plan.

The total Plan allocation for SCs by all ministries in 2007-2008 is Rs 1,25,15.75 crore, 6.10 per cent of the total allocations of around Rs 20,8583 crore, instead of the mandated 16 per cent, civil rights bodies have pointed out.

A symposium organised by the Dr KR Narayanan Centre for Dalit and Minorities Studies, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability and Social Watch, Tamil Nadu, today pointed out the anomaly in the Budget.

The organisations urged the government to rectify this anomaly and see to it that the unspent provisions do not lapse but are automatically credited to a revolving fund.

This gross diversion of funds, on an average Rs 15,000 crore annually for the last 25 years (Rs 375,000 crore), was an extension of "untouchability" and "exclusion" of SCs from the resources which rightfully belonged to them, the organisations said in a statement today.

Data, they said, show that out of 75 departments/ministries, 22 have unilaterally decided that their schemes are indivisible, that is, there won't be any special component for the weaker sections, especially SCs/STs.

This, the organisations said, went against the Constitutional provisions for SCs/STs. They sought punitive action against the departments/ministries which were not following the directive for special funding of schemes for SCs/STs.

The government had introduced the special component Plan (SCP) during the 6th Five-Year Plan. This has now been renamed as the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP).

The scheme entails targeted flow of funds and associated benefits from the annual Plan of the Centre and states/union territories (UTs) in proportion to the SC population of 16 per cent.

--
Mr. Tanveer Kazi
National Secretary
National Campaign On Dalit Human Rights
8/1,2nd Floor, South Patel Nagar
NEW DELHI-110008 ( INDIA)

Ph/ Fax:- 91-11-25842249/ 25842250

Mobile:- 09350183804  09818933034
Email:- tan...@ncdhr.org    
           tan...@gmail.com

Website:- www.dalits.org