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ENGAGED CIRCLE dalit window Welcome To Edgeland Not once in our planned economy have SCs, STs and OBCs received over two percent of the budget, writes ASHOK BHARTI RECOGNISING THE age-old sufferings and exploitation of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other marginalised groups, the founding fathers evolved mechanisms to ameliorate the socio-economic conditions of these sections of society. The Planning Commission, set up in March 1950, is one such mechanism. The resolution that laid down the Commission's scope defined it in the following terms: "... the State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life, and shall direct its policy towards securing, among other things: "That the citizens ... have the right to an adequate means of livelihood; "That the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to sub-serve the common good; and "That the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment." Keeping the above objectives, and the overall marginalisation of SCs, STs and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (popularly known as OBCs), in view, one would expect the Commission to by now have ensured adequate resource allocation for the development of these groups. But experience and data show that the Commission has failed not only to recognise the developmental needs of Dalits but even to provide resources commensurate with their percentage in the population. The August 1990 report of the Working Group on Development of Scheduled Castes during the Eighth Five Year Plan had noted, "In spite of the Constitutional directives and a number of legislative and executive measures taken by the government, the conditions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes did not improve much during the period prior to the Sixth Five Year Plan, mainly due to the lack of economic support. The only funds available for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were under the Backward Classes sector of the annual plans. It was reported that the total amount mobilised for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was just Rs 433.24 crore to the end of 1979-80, which was a mere 0.476 percent of the total money spent on five year plans in 30 years." This realisation led to the formation of a new strategy in the form of the special component plans of the states and Central ministries, special Central assistance to the special component plans of the states and the setting up of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, but government performance on these has largely remained dismal. In the Sixth Five Year Plan, out of the total actual expenditure of Rs 1,09,291.70 crore, only Rs 1,480 crore was spent on the welfare of the SCs, STs and OBCs, merely 1.35 percent of the total expenditure. Similarly in the Seventh Five Year Plan, out of a total actual expenditure of Rs 2,18,729.60 crore, only Rs 3,567.60 crore was spent on SC, ST and OBC welfare, only 1.63 percent of the total expenditure. Outlays for the development of SCS, STS and OBCS during the Eighth and Ninth Plans were Rs 7,266.26 and Rs 16,999.93 crore out of total outlays of Rs 4,85,457.20 and Rs 8,59,200 crore respectively. IN A nutshell, one may observe that the total expenditure on the development of SCs, STs and OBCs since the inception of planning in India has remained less than 2 percent of the total expenditure. This would decrease further were one to add the colossal defence expenditure that India incurs annually. Apart from the five-year plans, annual budgets since the 1950s have also failed to under - stand the developmental needs and resource requirements of India's marginalised. Budget allocations for SC, ST and OBC welfare have plummeted from 7.06 percent in 1991-92 to 2.89 percent in 2004- 05 of the total Central Social Service Budget, which itself has gone from 0.37 percent to 0.29 percent of the total budget. It is, therefore, not difficult to understand the observations of the Arjun Sengupta Report, which indicates that 83.6 crore Indians survive on less than Rs 20 per day. This report also indicates that 88 percent of SCs and STs, 85 percent of all Muslims and 80 percent of all OBCs belong to this miserable stratum. Bharti is convenor, National Conference of Dalit Organisations WRITER'S EMAIL [EMAIL PROTECTED] Oct 20, 2007
