Since 2014, Karnataka has spent an impressive ₹1.84 lakh crore on the welfare and development of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribe (STs), who jointly constitute 24.1% of the State’s population. Yet, government data reveals that the communities are lagging behind the State averages in several parameters.
While the amount spent — a mandate after the Karnataka Scheduled Castes Sub-Allocation and Tribal Sub-Allocation (Planning, Allocation & Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act, 2013, came into force on April 1, 2014, allocating resources as per the population ratio — looks big on paper, in reality, data reveals, a large portion of the total amount has not reached the targeted population. In Karnataka, the SCs and STs constitute 17.15% and 6.95%, respectively, of the total population as per the 2011 Census.
After the Act came into force, as much as ₹2.26 lakh crore has been allocated to the Social Welfare Department, to be disbursed to different departments to undertake welfare works for the communities. While ₹1.9 lakh crore out of the ₹2.26 lakh crore allocated has been released, about ₹1.84 lakh crore has been spent.
