Nine departments in Telangana State government have not spent even one paisa out of the funds allocated to them under the Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes and Tribal Sub Plan (SCP&TSP) during the financial year 2015-16.
The departments include Ayush, Roads and Buildings, Health and Medical, Labour, Youth Services, Law and Survey and Settlement among others, a report by the Dalit Bahujan Front revealed.
All the three budgets after the State bifurcation have allocated funds directly to the 35 departments, and not to the nodal agencies as prescribed under the relevant legislations, due to which spending of the funds for Dalit development has been totally neglected, the report said.
Even in other departments, the funds are only partially spent. The SC Development department has spent Rs.592 crore only out of Rs.1,305 crore, while the SC Corporation spent merely Rs.265 crore out of Rs.1030 crore allocations.
The Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society has spent Rs.193 crore out of Rs.379 crore, the report revealed.
Speaking at a seminar organised by DBF here on Friday, TJAC chairperson M.Kodandaram noted that even the loans sanctioned from the SC Corporation were not being released to the beneficiaries soon. He made a demand that the loans be released immediately forthwith.
Earlier, DBF national secretary Shankar read out the allocations and sanctions under the sub plan component, and said though the TRS government came to power riding on the promise of spending a minimum of Rs.10,000 crore per year for the development of Dalits for the next five years, it has reneged on it, and spent only Rs.5,178 crore in the first two budgets. A total of Rs.15,000 crore funds from the first two budgets have lapsed.
Further, Rs.1,996 crore from current year’s funds for SCP, and Rs.855 crore from TSP funds have been diverted to other schemes, Mr.Shankar alleged.
The land distribution scheme for Dalits too has remained unfulfilled, as only 3,454 families have been provided with 9149.21 acres of land so far, with an expenditure of Rs.398 crore, though the scheme was allocated Rs.2,000 crore during the two budgets. Only 6,480 acres have been registered for 2,467 families, and many families were yet to receive the pattas. Of the purchased land, only 10 per cent have some kind of irrigation facility. No funds have been allocated for land purchase in 2016-17 budget, he said.
Further Mr.Shankar drew notice to the closure of SC hostel on the pretext of lack of strength, and also to the insufficient mess charges and cosmetic charges.
Y.B.Satyanarayana representing Centre for Dalit Studies has expressed stark disappointment with the implementation of the SCP/TSP legislation. Rules have not been framed so far, nor has apex body been constituted, he said, and attributed it to the bureaucrats’ indifference.
SCP funds
Year--------------- Allocation----------Released --------- Spent
2014-15---------- Rs.7,248 cr-------- Rs.3370 cr-------- Rs.2533 cr
2015-16----------- Rs.7118 cr-------- Rs.3827 cr-------- Rs.3185 cr
* 2016-17----------- Rs.10,483 cr----- Rs.3166 cr------ Rs. 1442 cr
TSP funds
Year--------------- Allocations----------- Released------------ Spent
2014-15----------- Rs.4,420 cr------------ Rs.2075 cr---------- Rs.1610 cr
2015-16----------- Rs.5179 cr------------- Rs.1683 cr---------- Rs.1624 cr
* 2016-17----------- Rs.6171 cr-------------- Rs.1837 cr----------- Rs.861 cr
* Release and spending for 2016-17 are only up to June this year
