Enacts India’s first legislation to implement Sub-Plans for SCs, STs
A new chapter was opened for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday when its Assembly unanimously adopted a Bill to give legislative backing to the Sub-Plans for these disadvantaged sections with a mandatory provision for allocation of nearly a fourth of the State’s annual plan of the budget for them hereafter.
This makes AP the first State in the country to enact the law according legal status to the Sub-Plans as insisted for a long time on States by the Planning Commission and National Development Council (NDC). The legislation will be effective from the State’s 2013-14 budget and if this was enforced last year, a huge sum of Rs. 11,157 crore would have gone to them straightaway from the Rs 48,935-crore plan outlay of the State’s 2012-13 budget (calculated at the statutory 16.23 per cent for SCs and 6.6 per cent for STs).
Exclusive session
The passage of the AP SCs and STs Sub-Plans (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Resources) Bill, shortly before midnight, climaxed a debate spanning three days for which an exclusive session was held. Before the final adoption, amid thumping of desks, the House sat for over 15 hours without a break.
The Opposition, by and large, endorsed the proposal by the Kiran Kumar Reddy Government, except the Telugu Desam, which, however, dubbed the initiative as “one that will do no good” and aimed at the 2014 elections. An amendment sought by its deputy leader, M. Narsimhulu, a Dalit, to incorporate a provision for proportionate allocations to ABCD groups within the SCs based on their populations and socio-economic conditions, was defeated by 22 votes when it was subjected to voting.
Advice to Opposition
The Chief Minister, in his reply, said the Opposition should not be apprehensive about his decision not to table the report of the Cabinet Sub-Committee based on whose recommendations the Bill was introduced, saying nothing was kept secret as 29 out of 33 of its recommendations had been introduced in the Bill.
The committee, through the remaining recommendations, sought establishment of ombudsman to monitor the Sub-Plans but this job could be handled by the Lokayukta. There was no divergence of opinion over this among the Ministers and party leaders.
He rejected demands by the Opposition for constituting an empowered group of Ministers for monitoring, on the ground that the Ministers would be drafted into the nodal agencies.
The legislation would convert the Sub-Plans a right of the SCs and STs, binding on successive Chief Ministers. There was no constitutional provision to prevent lapsing of SC/ST funds, as the Assembly was empowered to adopt annual budget merely for one year.
He assured the House that the problem could be tackled through an executive order already issued, by which extra allocations equal to the lapsed sums would be made the next year.
Elated: Congress activists celebrating the approval of the SC, ST Sub Plan at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad on Sunday. – Photo: By Special Arrangement
The legislation will be effective from the State’s 2013-14 budget
Opposition, by and large, endorses the proposal by Kiran Kumar Reddy Government
Keywords: State Assembly, Sub-Plans
It is good that at least now there a law backing SC/ST sub plan.this
should not be seen in political angle,even congress may get some
credit but this is a necessary law to uplift downtrodden and deprived
people.At least from now government should show probity in discharging
the fund with out diverting them to other heads just by showing mere
reasons that funds are not being utilized by the departments.also it
will be good if government utilizes majority of the funds in
education,including scholarships in higher education and capacity
building of the people who are from these sections.
This is desperate attempt of failed system to provide a formal lip
service to the disadvantaged.66 years of independence has ensured that
not only SC/ST but a huge chunk of population have become
disadvantaged.There is no lack of enabling and empowering schemes of
programmes.They fail to deliver because of bureaucrats and politicians
and other privilege who are inefficient,indifferent,arrogant,callous and
corrupt to the core.
First of all, Congratulations to Andhra Pradesh MLAs for passing a path-breaking legislation that can set right many of the wrongs committed against SCs/STs. Hope all the other states of the Indian Union too follow the same precedent set by Andhra Pradesh irrespective of the political party that is in power.
This politicians,Instead of focusing on the grass root problems and
eliminating them,Are always busy playing cheap political tricks for
there own interest.
And Misuse peoples moneys as if it belongs to them.
Any How Congress will soon be a gone case..
more then 65 years and lakhs and lakhs crores of gotalas by congress.
This move is politically motivated and aimed at tying the hands of future governments and Cheif Ministers. I doubt if the Congress cares for the SC/ST's and knowing full well that it will not return to power in the next general elections it has created a platform for itself without having to do anything concrete in terms of spending the funds actually for the benefit of SC/ST's. The Congress will simply take credit for something for which it deserves no credit.
It is worth emulation by other states immediately. Mere lip services are no more required.
It is a very good initiative, but only if the benefits reach the real target group. The problem in our system is that most of the benefits are mis-appropriated by the administrative system in the form of politicians, bureaucrats and local leaders. There are innumerable examples of these kind of good intention policies being hijacked by the very people responsible to make sure that the benefits reach the bottom of the pyramid. Unless attention is focused on correcting this and improving the delivery system, i am afraid the present initiative is going to end up as all the other good policies. The best way of correcting this lacuna is to have an active civil society. Thanks to the long corrective reservation of our constitution, many of the SC and ST member are now in a position to work with the system. The better off members of society, and more so from the SC & ST, should take up the responsibility to make sure that the delivery system works properly.
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