MADURAI: The Adi Dravidar Welfare Monitoring Committee, which oversees the implementation of all related schemes in Tamil Nadu, has not been constituted after 2020, an RTI reply has revealed. The committee was originally formed in 1988, and carved from the Social Welfare Department to help the SC/ST community and was functional till 2020.
The last monitoring committee was active between 2017 and 2020, had around 27 members and was headed by the then minister of Adi Dravidar welfare.
RTI activist S Karthick said the welfare monitoring committee primarily aims at identifying the basic requirements of the SC/ST community and works towards improving basic amenities in their habitations, overseeing house site pattas, and operating schools and hostels for Adi Dravidar students, among other things.
"Such works should be monitored by the Adi Dravidar Welfare Monitoring Committee. Unfortunately, the committee has not been reconstituted for four years. The role of the committee is key, especially in case of financial assistance programmes," he said.
“For example, the Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing & Development Corporation (TAHDCO)'s loan assistance programme offers loan subsidies for SC/STs. The primary purpose is to help such beneficiaries through financial support, and these initiatives must be evaluated and socially audited by the members of the monitoring committee. If not, how can we measure the overall success of the scheme?" Karthick asked.
An official from Adi Dravidar Welfare Department said, "We have received several petitions to form the state-level Adi Dravidar Welfare Monitoring Committee, and we have conveyed this to the top officials. Since the state government is getting ready for the Budget and is occupied with other things, we conveyed the issue to the secretary of the AD Welfare Department. Once the Government Order is released, we will have the list of members of the committee very soon."