It has been alleged the Planning Commission and the 12th five-year Plan would legitimise diversion of money meant for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST).
In the 12th Plan document, the Planning Commission had come up with a proposal to bridge the shortfall in allocations for the SC/ST special component plans by various ministries. However, the proposal didn’t suggest ways to bridge the shortfall of Rs 26,000 crore for the SC sub-plan; it suggested a mechanism to do away with the shortfall. The Plan document suggested the funds for SC/ST plans be linked with the consumption data of the two communities. Through this, the shortfall of Rs 26,000 crore in the SC sub-plan for 2012-13 is reduced to shortage of a mere Rs 3,641.84 crore.
If this method is used, one also finds there is no shortage of allocations for the ST sub-plan. The commission credits a task force headed by member Narendra Jadhav for coming up with this formula.
| ALLOCATION MATH |
|
This new method of calculation effectively ensures the government isn’t blamed of diverting funds meant for SC/ST categories to other segments; it also reduces the funds set aside for SC/ST categories. In Budget 2012-13, funds allocated for the SC sub-plan stood at Rs 37,113.03 crore. However, if this would have been calculated on the basis of the fact that about 16.2 per cent of the overall population are SCs (allocations towards SCs/STs are aligned with their population, which is about 16.2 per cent of the overall population), it would have stood at Rs 63,346.37 crore (16.2 per cent of the general Budget support).
According to National Sample Survey Organisation data, 12 per cent of the country’s consumption expenditure is accounted for by SCs. So, 12 per cent of the consumption expenditure, 12 per cent of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme allocation and 12 per cent of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana expenditure adds up to Rs 22,591.50 crore. Therefore, the shortfall stood at just Rs 3,641.84 crore, the commission concluded. Initially, the shortfall stood at about nine times this amount.
Though Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Kumari Selja had raised the issue of reduced funding for SC/ST special component plans with the Planning Commission in December, the document remains unchanged. Officials in the ministry said they had received an assurance the commission would look into the matter. However, they weren’t aware of any changes yet, said a ministry official.
Planning Commission member Narendra Jadhav said the Plan document was being revised. But he refused to comment on whether the proposal on a shortfall in the special component plan would be dropped or altered. “Wait for ten days,” he said.
The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), which has released annual reports on the diversion of funds meant for SC/ST categories by various ministries, has condemned the proposal in the Plan document. NCDHR’s Paul Divakar says, “If this proposal is carried out, all the diversion by ministries over the last 25 years would be justified. It would also nullify the very existence of the special component plan, thus going back to the 70s, when none existed.”
The SC/ST special component plans were brought out in the 70s, after the government and the Planning Commission felt development funds weren’t helping the SC/ST categories. Then, it was decided 7.5 per cent of the government spending would be set aside for SCs/STs, said activists of the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability.
