With elections to the Assembly just around the corner in Karnataka, several Dalit groups have appealed to political parties to pass the legislation to provide statutory status to the Special Component Plan (SCP) and the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) in their election manifestos.
The Karnataka Dalita Mahila Vedike (KDMV) and the Centre for Dalit Studies (CDS) Hyderabad have said a separate law would facilitate allocation of budget for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes’ welfare in proportion to their population in the State. Such a law exists in Andhra Pradesh where not only does it ensure allocation of funds to SC and ST communities in proportion to their population, but also makes sure of total utilisation of funds allocated to these sections in the planned budget.
Addressing the media, M. Anjaneyulu, director of CDS; Satyanarayana, president of CDS; and Yashoda P., convener, KDMV; on Tuesday said such a legislation was essential in Karnataka as the resources earmarked have been arbitrary and sub-optimal.
Except for Andhra Pradesh, no other State has taken the initiative to pass a Bill to extend social justice to SC and ST community, Mr. Anjaneyulu said. Regretting the failure in implementing both the plans in Karnataka, Ms. Yashoda said funds allocated for plans had been diverted and there was no accountability. Efforts were now on to launch a movement to bring pressure on the government to pass a law based on the Andhra Pradesh model.
