The proposed Chief Minister’s Council will directly sanction funds and monitor the utilisation under the SC and ST sub-plans.
Instead of going for finance department’s nod for sanction of funds, the Chief Minister’s Council will sanction the funds. The Chief Minister’s Council - which will have eight ministers from important departments and also SC and ST ministers, was one among several proposals made in the new legislation for implementation of SC and ST sub-plans. A new secretary (finance) post will be created to assist the government on sub-plan funds. These are the salient features proposed legislation for SC and ST sub-plan funds.
Sources in the planning department told Express that the proposed legislation draft was ready and it would be placed before the cabinet at its next meeting.
It may be recalled that the a cabinet sub-committee under the chairmanship of deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha did a thorough exercise of bringing a new legislation for utilisation of SC and ST sub-plan funds. The draft legislation is ready and the deputy chief minister will present the same to chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday. Then the draft will be placed before the cabinet.
They said that those officials who failed to utilise or divert the SC and ST sub-plan funds would face serious disciplinary action and the same would be recorded in their service records.
The proposed council will have eight ministers of important departments besides all the SC and ST ministers.
The proposals under the SC and ST sub-plan funds will be received from the ground level well before six months for the 2013-14 budget. They will be ratified and the same would be incorporated in the budget.
The focus will be on education, basic amenities like toilets at educational institutions, health would be accorded to priority. “The legislation will ensure that the proposals sent by various departments will help SCs and STs and will not benefit the contractors,” officials said. As per the population, the SCs will get 16.2 per cent and STs will get 6.8 per cent in the budget. As per population, Nellore district has the highest number of SCs _ around 23 per cent _ and they will get a large chunk of founds, sources said.