R. Dhruvanarayan, MP, has said the State government has decided to book criminal cases against officers who fail to provide benefits to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities under the Special Component Plan (SCP) and Tribal Special Plan (TSP) as well as under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Participating in the district SC and ST Hitharakshana (welfare committee) Samiti meeting here on Wednesday, Mr. Dhurvanarayan instructed the officials of the zilla panchayat, taluk panchayat and gram panchayat, Mysuru City Corporation, Mysure Urban Development Authority and other departments such as Horticulture, Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry to provide facilities under the 22.75 per cent scheme.
He said that laxity on the part of officials in providing facilities to SC and ST communities would not be tolerated.
He said that it had come to his notice that part of the grants reserved for SC and ST communities in many local bodies had either been diverted or not been utilised.
Hitherto, grants released lapsed if they were not used in the stipulated time period. However, he said the government had issued a circular stating that the funds that could not be used in a particular year could be used in the subsequent year.
‘Keep track’
The MP instructed Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha and Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat Gopal to keep track of all departments, including local bodies, and ensure that funds released for the development of SC and ST communities were utilised.
He asked them to monitor the funds and instruct officials to go to people’s houses and inform them of schemes as many people were unaware.
