Diversion of SC/ST funds must stop

The Karnataka Legislature Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes has reported that the amount earmarked for the welfare of SC/STs in the state is not reaching them and has called for a new mechanism to ensure that the allocated funds are utilised for the purpose and efficiently. According to the report, there are 1.8 crore individuals belonging to the SC/ST communities in Karnataka. Since 2013, the government has provided Rs 2.5 lakh crore to the communities under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan, but a substantial portion of this amount has not been used for the purposes of the SC/ST specifically and has not reached the intended recipients. 

In 2013, the legislature passed The Karnataka Scheduled Caste Sub-Allocation and Tribal Sub-Allocation (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act to make it mandatory to allot funds for the welfare of SC/ST communities in proportion to their population. The Act also made it clear that the allocated funds could not be diverted to other purposes and should only be spent on schemes that directly benefit the SC/ST population. However, Section 7(d) of the Act provided a loophole to this as it permitted what has come to be known as “deemed expenditure”, especially with respect to infrastructure projects. For instance, a portion of the funds allotted to SC/ST welfare can be diverted toward the construction of flyovers or roads on the ground that these facilities are also used by the people of these communities. Though the spirit of the Act is that the funds should be ‘non-divisible’, this provision has been misused by successive governments, including the previous BJP regime. This clause defeats the very purpose of the legislation which was designed to ensure that government mandatorily spends an earmarked amount on the welfare of SC/ST communities. 

Recently, the Siddaramaiah-led government had come under fire for its decision to divert over Rs 11,000 crore out of the Rs 34,294 crore allotted for SC/ST sub-plans to fund the five guarantees announced by the Congress in the run up to the 2023 Assembly elections. Under criticism from Dalit organisations, the government is now said to be contemplating scrapping of Section 7(d). The relevant amendment should be passed in the current session of the legislature itself. The government should also release a white paper on SC/ST sub-plan spendings so that a clear picture emerges on the extent of diversion of funds. The practice of “deemed expenditure” should end immediately and 100% of the funds earmarked for SC/ST development should be spent exclusively on the communities, as required by the Act. Diversion of such funds amounts to injustice to the most marginalised sections of the society.