BENGALURU: After coming under fire from the Opposition over the diversion of Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) grants for the implementation of the Congress guarantees, the government on Thursday clarified that Rs 11,144 crore under the SCSP and TSP grants has been allocated for the guarantee schemes. It will be mandatorily used for families from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) issued a detailed note refuting the allegations of diverting the SCSP/TSP funds and justified the decision to allocate Rs 11,144 crore for implementing the guarantees.
The guarantee schemes implemented by the Energy Department, Women and Child Welfare Department, Skill Development, Transport and Foods, and Civil Supplies Department directly benefit people from SCs and STs, the note said. As per the guidelines, part of the allocations under the SCSP and TSP have been given to those departments to implement the guarantee schemes, the government said.
In the SCSP and TSP grants of Rs 34,294 crore, Rs 5,075 crore has been allocated for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, Rs 2,779.97 for Anna Bhagya, Rs 2,410 for Gruha Jyothi, Rs 812 crore for Shakti and Rs 67.5 crore for Yuva Nidhi scheme, the note stated.
“Directions have been given to ensure that the funds will be used only for beneficiaries from SC and ST communities. Appropriate measures have also been taken to get exact numbers of SC/ST beneficiaries and getting it examined by a nodal agency,” the note stated.
The government has decided to do away with Section 7 (D) of the SCSP and TSP Act 2013, which gives scope for spending the grants for other purposes and the same has also been announced in the budget. With that, the grants will not be allowed to be diverted for roads, bridges, or other such works and it will only be used for providing direct benefit to people from those communities.
The CMO note cited a decline in central grants as the reason for the reduction in the SCSP and TSP funds as the state governments were forced to take loans, which eventually increases its burden. Despite that, this year, the government prepared the SCSP and TSP action plan for Rs 34,294 crore, which is Rs 4,031 crore more compared to the last year’s action plan.
However, opposition parties have accused the government of diverting the funds for guarantee schemes when people from the community need better education and healthcare. They have accused the CM of being anti-Dalit.