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Only 15% of dedicated funds for SC/ST welfare used in six months in Karnataka — a steep decline from last year

December 01, 2022 09:45 pm | Updated 09:46 pm IST - Bengaluru

Departments regarded key for social development, such as Education and Skill Development, have done poorly in spending for SC/ST welfare

The State government’s expenditure on the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes this financial year has declined steeply over the previous year. Just about 15% of ₹29,165.81 crore allocated in this Budget has been spent in the first six months of the financial year, a steep decline compared with the corresponding period of 2021–22 when about 37% of the allocated sum had been spent.

Shockingly, departments regarded as key for social development, such as Education and Skill Development, are the worst performers in spending.

Coming as an embarrassment for the government, which recently increased the reservation quota to the SC/ST communities, the data was discussed at a review meeting here on Thursday. It showed that of ₹20,843 crore allocated for SC welfare, just about ₹3,103.83 crore or 15% has been spent even though ₹10,196.75 crore has been released already. In the case of STs, against the allocation of ₹8,322.78 crore, departments have spent just about ₹1,200.99 crore or 14.5% of the allocation even though ₹3,505.71 crore has been released.

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CM dismayed

Stung by the poor progress, government sources said, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai took stock of the situation from Social Welfare Department officials on Thursday where he is learnt to have expressed dismay and sought action against those found guilty of not properly implementing schemes. “Normally, about 40% of the allocation is spent in six months,” said the source.

For the corresponding period in 2021–22, various departments had spent ₹7,225.56 crore or 39% of the total ₹18,331.54 crore allocated for SC welfare. Departments had also spent ₹2,425.97 crore or 32% of ₹7,673.47 crore allocated for ST welfare.

Not only have some departments not utilised the available Central funds for the SC/ST welfare at all, but many departments have also shown expenditure less than the overall average. Departments of Water Resources, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Housing, Planning, Agriculture, Forest, Sericulture, and Primary and Secondary Education have been found to have spent less than the average.

The Department of Higher Education has been found to have spent just about 2.2% or ₹6.34 crore of the allocated ₹287 crore while the Skill Development Department has spent 4.65% or ₹6.53 crore of the total ₹140.47 crore allocated. Similarly, the Primary and Secondary Education Department has spent ₹159.67 crore or about 16.22% of the allocated ₹984.65 crore.

Callous attitude

“A combination of factors have worked for such a dismal performance. Action plans are not submitted by political representatives on time while tendering is a time-consuming process. List of beneficiaries are not given and the list of work also delayed,” a senior official said. “The biggest problem, however, is the callous attitude of the officials in implementing welfare schemes for SC/STs.”

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