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UPA govt hands out a raw deal to dalits and adivasis
Subodh Varma, TNN, Feb 22, 2010, 12.51am IST
In its election manifesto for the 2009 general elections, Congress had
promised that it would ensure that allocations made under the Special
Components Plan (SCP) for scheduled castes and the Tribal Sub-Plan for
scheduled tribes are in accordance with their proportion in the total
population. These two crucial schemes ensure that a proportion of all
plan spending has to go towards the most marginalized and deprived
sections of Indian society dalits and adivasis.
Funds routed under these schemes are non-divertable and non-lapsable.
Such a promise was necessary because over the years, it had become
almost customary to spend only a small amount under these schemes
despite clear mandate that expenditure has to be about 16% for dalits
and about 8% for adivasis. When UPA came to power for first time in
2004, only 5 out of 104 departments/
expenditure. Addressing the 51st National Development Council meeting
in 2005, PM Manmohan Singh said that within 10 years expenditure would
be brought in line with population proportions. Since then, this
promise has been repeated several times, and all parties have voiced
support to it.
Yet reality is quite the reverse. Not only is the allocation under SCP
and TSP below the target, it has actually declined in past three
years, according to research done by the Centre for Budget and
Governance Accountability (CBGA), a Delhi-based think tank. Spending
for dalits under SCP increased from 4.25% in 2004-05 to 8.12% in
2007-08, but then declined to 6.49% in 2009-10. By law it should be at
least 16%, that being the proportion of dalits in the Indian
population. Similarly, spending for tribals under TSP increased from a
puny 2.8% in 2004-05 to 4.89% in 2007-08, but then declined to 4.1% in
the last budget. Again, legally, it should be 8%, which is the share
of tribals in Indias population.
This shocking truth emerged from CBGA research on expenditure details
under SCP and TSP by 18 ministries/departme
such allocation. These include some of the major ministries handling
matters that relate to dalit and adivasi communities, like education,
rural development, tribal affairs and social justice and empowerment.
In 2009-10, total plan expenditure was Rs 243,893 crore. Out of this,
Rs 15,832 crore was spent through SCP for dalits. By statutory
requirement, it should have been 16% of total expenditure, that is,
about Rs 39,514 crore. So, just in one year, dalit communities in
India were short-changed for a whopping Rs 23,682 crore. Expenditure
on adivasis was pegged at Rs 9,995 crore, whereas it should have been
8% of total, that is, about Rs 19,751. They were deprived of Rs 9,756
crore last year.
Dalits and adivasis constitute the poorest of our society. The bulk of
them own very little land, have higher proportion of illiterates and
suffer more social exclusion, than other strata. It was to partially
mitigate these consequences of centuries of discrimination that
schemes like SCP and TSP were devised. But the casual manner in which
they are being dealt with despite repeated promises at the highest
levels, raises questions about how serious these promises are.
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