DIANA FERNANDES
PANJIM: Even as the State is reeling under a severe financial crunch, the State government has used less than a quarter (21.87 per cent) of the budgetary provision for the tribal community, leaving a majority of the funds earmarked for the scheduled tribes unutilized, records show.
The Tribal Welfare department says the schemes are either being formulated and in the process of being implemented or are not being implemented at all.
Of the Rs 219.11 crore marked as budgetary provision for various tribal schemes for the financial year 2014-15, only Rs 47.92 crore were allocated to 1,49,275 ST population.
Asked why the funds were not utilized for the STs, Director of Tribal Welfare Department Sandhya Kamat said it was so because some schemes weren’t launched at all.
“There are some schemes like the Aadhivasi Vikas Yojana under which Rs 40 crore has been allocated but which have not been released. Though it was launched in December, there is a long procedure before the funds are released. From the formulation of the scheme to the tendering and implementation it takes a long time,” Kamat said, adding the amount if not spent would be carried forward to the next financial year.
And this is not a novel occurrence. The Comptroller Auditor General’s (CAG) report pointed out that for the financial year 2013-14, from the tribal welfare budget of Rs 62.50 crore, only Rs 13.26 crore was spent. The reason listed for this non-utilisation was “non implementation/poor response to the welfare schemes.”
Last year only 30 per cent of the funds were put to use, United Tribal Associations Alliance (UTAA) President Prakash Velip said, arguing that this was a sorry state of affairs and urged the government to work towards a higher utilization percentage.
“It is a very sorry state that this year the amount is not higher than the last. Ideally it should be around 70 per cent. I think the government should try to put in more efforts to solve this problem and make sure the funds are put to good use,” Velip said.
Of the other schemes not being implemented but listed as a scheme provided by the government is the providing of financial assistance to purchase dwelling house of Mundkar under the ‘Mundkarache Ghar’ for which an amount of Rs 15 lakh has been allocated. Construction of tribal bhavan, setting up of the tribal research institute and land acquisition for construction of houses for ST people residing in forest area are some of the other schemes listed but which have not been implemented.
