The Minorities Welfare Department is unable to fully utilise budget allocations on account of a number of reasons, including a staff crunch, and an overwhelming number of applications from potential beneficiaries.
A response to a question asked by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen legislators in the Legislative Assembly showed that less than half of the Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation's (TSMFC) budgetary allocation towards bankable scheme was spent.
The objective of this scheme is to provide financial assistance to entrepreneurs from the minority communities.
According to the reply, 46% of the allocated amount was spent in FY 2016-17. The case was poor in FY 2015-16 when the utilisation was 29 % and in FY 2014-15 it was around 45 %.
A look at the total budgetary allocation of the Minorities Welfare Department too reveals a similar trend. The utilisation of funds in FY 2014-15 stood at 31.8 %. In FY 2015-16, it increased to 44.5 %. But in the subsequent year, it rose substantially to a little over 71 %.
Explaining the staffing patterns across the State, a source in the department said that the load of receiving, processing and clearing applications of all welfare schemes for minorities is with the district minorities welfare officer (DMWO) alone.
“He is only one man. There is a junior and senior assistant. Some districts don't even have a DMWO,” the source said.
Speaking to The Hindu , secretary for Minorities Welfare Syed Omer Jaleel said that while inadequate staff is a reason for funds not being fully spent, he pointed out that the percentage of fund utilisation is increasing with each passing year.
“In 2015, Telangana State Minorities Finance Corporation’s rules had changed. Then we had to deal with over 1.5 lakh applications. The department’s performance in terms of fund utilisation is improving greatly with each year,” he said.
He said that funds for bankable schemes could also not be fully used as some banks were seeking collateral against loans.
“Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said that bank linkage should be removed. A file has now been circulated to deal with this subject,” Mr. Jaleel said.
