GULBARGA: The State Government has decided to do away the practice of deducting the Special Component Plan (SCP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) funds from the allocation made to the Hyderabad Karnataka Development Board and including it in the State pool. It has decided to permit the HKDB to use the percentage of the TSP and SCP funds from the total allocation made to the HKDB for development projects for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the five districts covered by the HKDB.

Agriculture Marketing Minister Sharanabasappa Dharshanapur, who is also chairman of the HKDB, told The Hindu here on Tuesday that a decision in this regard was taken at a high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in Bangalore on Monday to discuss the problems faced by the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. Mr. Dharshanapur said the meeting took another important decision of reimbursing funds spent for taking up NABARD-assisted Rural Infrastructure Development Fund from 1998-99 to 2006-07 by the HKDB, which was not reimbursed by the State Government despite the fact that the NABARD had reimbursed the amount to the Government.

The Minister said till 1993-94 the State Government had not deducted funds from HKDB for the State pool of the SCP and the TSP. The practice started in 1994-95 and till the end of the last financial year Rs. 182.36 crore was deducted from the HKDB funds and included in the State pool.

He said there was no opposition to the Government deducting the SCP and TSP funds from the allocated amount of the HKDB, but it would be wrong to include these funds in the State pool since the HKDB funds were allocated for the special purpose of developing underdeveloped areas in Hyderabad Karnataka region and all the funds allocated for this purpose should be utilised in the region itself.

Mr. Dharshanapur said the Chief Minister convinced by the plea for changing the present format of deducting the funds and including it in the State pool directed the Finance and Social Welfare departments to do away with the practice and allow the HKDB to use the funds meant for the SCP and TSP from the allocated amount according to the population of the SC and STs in the five district for the development activities in the five jurisdictional districts.

He said the Chief Minister also directed the Finance Department to reimburse funds used by the HKDB for implementing NABARD-assisted RIDF funds from 1998-99 amounting to more than Rs. 98 crore. Mr. Dharshanapur said the Rs. 98 crore which would be reimbursed to HKDB would be used for the special development activities in the region and priority would be given for the construction of roads.

Each constituency in the five districts under the HKDB was likely to get Rs. 2.5 crore from the Rs. 98 crore for taking development projects.

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