A parliamentary committee has said welfare measures aimed at Other Backward Classes are not getting due attention and recommended that the measures be given the same preeminence as those rendered to Scheduled Castes.
The committee on Welfare of OBCs pertaining to the Social Justice & Empowerment Ministry recommended that government make separate provisions for OBCs' entitlement to Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme fund, as is the case with SCs and STs who are allocated a minimum share of 15 and 7.5 percent of total money respectively.
"We are startled to note that OBCs, constituting about 52 percent population of the country as per Mandal Commission Report, are getting about 21 percent of the ministry's outlay", it said in its report, pointing out that 72.5 percent of its budget outlay is spent on the benefits for SCs.
It asked the government to consider setting up a separate department for welfare of OBCs within the ministry for "effective planning and execution of the welfare programmes for the development of OBCs".
It also recommended that OBC students be given training or coaching facilities to prepare for civil service examination like SC/ST students.
It noted that only those OBC students are entitled to pre-matric scholarship whose family income do not exceed Rs 44,500 per annum while the upward limit for a similar scheme for SC students is Rs 2 lakh.
It also highlighted that meagre scholarships ranging between Rs 25 and Rs 250 are given to OBC students and these have not been revised since 1988-89.
Welcoming the ministry's launch of new welfare programmes, the committee demanded they be treated at par with similar schemes for SCs/STs and adequate funds be allocated to them.
It also called for a quick caste census so that welfare schemes for them are implemented in an equitable and scientific way.
