Siddhartha Kumar
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:16:51 -0700
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=It%E2%80%99s+still+touch+and+go+for+SC/ST+in+Tamil+Nadu&artid=O1hWAPowSYQ=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&SEO=Scheduled+Castes+Special+Component+Plan+(SCSP)&SectionName=rSY%7C6QYp3kQ= It’s still touch and go for SC/ST in Tamil Nadu C Shivakumar First Published : 18 Mar 2010 02:58:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 18 Mar 2010 06:15:50 AM IST CHENNAI: Periyar would perhaps turn in his grave if he were to look at Tamil Nadu’s annual plan for 2009- 10, which violates the guidelines of the Planning Commission on the Scheduled Castes Special Component Plan (SCSP) and the tribal sub-plan (TSP). In a letter to the State Chief Secretary, Planning Commission’s State plans division’s joint secretary T K Pandey said Rs 2,721.62 crore allocated by the State in its 2009-10 annual plan for the SCSP and Rs 36.36 crore for the TSP did not conform with the guidelines of the Commission. “The proportion of SC population is 19 per cent and of ST is one per cent as per the 2001 census. Based on this, the government should have earmarked Rs 3,250 crore for SCSP and Rs 175 crore for TSP,” the letter argued. However, this seems feasible only on paper and things hardly go by the rule book. Funds either lapse or are diverted for other developmental schemes, says Father Irudaya Kumar, research consultant of Social Watch, Tamil Nadu. In 2005, Rs 500 crore was spent under the SCSP plan. Over the years, the State claims to have spent over Rs 2,500 crore on welfare schemes for SC. But, budget analysts say this is more an act of jugglery than a real expansion in fund flow. The State’s annual plans of 1996-2009 show that Rs 14,224 crore has been denied to Dalits. Several SC suspect that funds were diverted for purchasing TVs and for building the new Secretariat complex. ------------------------------------ ---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to zestmedia-dig...@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to zestcaste-subscr...@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: zestcaste-dig...@yahoogroups.com zestcaste-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: zestcaste-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/