BENGALURU: With no help coming from the Centre despite multiple requests for flood relief, the Karnataka government is now looking inwards. To address the demand for immediate relief and rehabilitation measures in flood-ravaged districts of the state, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is looking to use funds allocated under SC/ST sub-plan.
To justify the move, Yediyurappa, who held a meeting of minister and officials of Social Welfare Department, said that the money would be used to build shelters for victims of flood only from SC/ST communities. With the Centre dillydallying on releasing aid, the state is forced to use money meant for various welfare schemes and developmental works for SC/ST communities.
“Deputy Chief Minister and Social Welfare minister Govind Karjol had held a meeting on September 12 with nodal agencies of SC/ST sub-plan implementation and took stock of developmental works undertaken so far. It was decided that unspent funds from various departments will be used to construct houses for people hailing from SC/ST communities in flood-hit districts,” Yediyurappa said. Stating that Rs 30,444.68 crore has been set aside in this fiscal year’s budget for SC/ST sub-plan, Yediyurappa said allocations will be proportional to the population of SC/STs in the State.
Going a step ahead, the state government has already estimated that about Rs 780.82 crore from the SC sub-plan and Rs 367 crore from ST sub-plan may emerge as unspent funds from various departments.
The Karnataka SC/ST development council, headed by the CM, will be in charge of plan approvals and the review of the implementation of schemes.
“Rs 21,602.62 crore and Rs 8842.06 crore have been allocated respectively under Scheduled Caste sub-plan and Scheduled Tribe sub-plan respectively for the fiscal year 2019-2020 taking the total to Rs 30,444.68 crore. All of 39 departments have undertaken developmental works under the allocation and at the end of August, about 18 per cent works have been completed. We have asked them to expedite works further,” Yediyurappa said.
Further, the social welfare department has been asked to spend about 50 per cent of allocated funds under Urban local bodies ministry to construct houses for citizens from SC/ST communities.