As the Karnataka government spent close to ₹2 lakh-crore for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes during the last one decade, it has been decided to conduct an evaluation on the actual use of funds by SCs and STs.
Minister for Social Welfare H.C. Mahadevappa said the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Karnataka Evaluation Authority and the department would conduct the evaluation jointly in the next six months.
The erstwhile Congress government (2013-18) led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah enacted the Karnataka Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan Act, 2013 to ensure that the grants were not scientifically distributed and did not reach the desired beneficiaries. Under the pioneering law, the State has to spend 24.1% of its total budget on SC/ST welfare.
The allocation under the Plan increased from ₹8,988 crore during 2013-14 to ₹34,294 crore, which included ₹24,333 crore for SCs and ₹9,960 crore for STs for 2023-24.
The evaluation would clearly indicate whether the money spent really benefited the SCs and STs and what extent the families have benefited from the government schemes, Mr. Mahadevappa said.
The department and two agencies have been asked to conduct the evaluation and submit the report to the government in six months to plug the loopholes, if any, and effective implementation of schemes.
In some cases, funds had been diverted to other works under section 7 of the Act. The government has decided to amend the Act during the winter session of the State legislature in Belagavi which would start from December 4 for preventing diversion of funds.
During the previous BJP government, a sum of ₹10,000 crore has been diverted to other departments for various purposes, he alleged.
On the occasion of the Congress government completing six months, Mr. Mahadevappa said the funds earmarked for the welfare of SCs and STs would be spent in a time-bound manner.
Close to 15 lakh SC/ST families cultivate lands in the State. But 50% of them had not received legal documents (podi). Denial of podi led to non-availability of Fasal Bima scheme and other benefits of the union government, he said.
Similarly, he said the department had received a report mentioning that 30 lakh SC/ST families had been given water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission. However, it was decided to get an evaluation report to know the actual number of beneficiaries under the JJM, he said.
