Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur   

Government going back on promise: CPI

ANANTAPUR: State secretariat member of CPI and State president of AP Rythu Sangham K. Ramakrishna has alleged that the State Government is going back on its promise on the nodal agency for SCs and STs. The Government is trying to wash off its hands of the matter by appointing a nodal agency without transferring any powers to it.

Talking to newspersons here on Friday he said that as per the SC/ ST population of 16.2 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively in the State, they ought to get a proportionate allocation in the budget.

However, against the total budget outlay of Rs. 32,000 crore for the current financial year, the two sections were allocated mere Rs. 1,200 cr. The proportion allocation would give them Rs. 6,540 cr., he noted.

He alleged that the Government is spending the funds meant for the SC/STs on others. If the Government is sincere in uplifting the two down-trodden sections it has to spend the proportionate funds through the nodal agency set up. It should also be accorded the task of preparing plans for both the sections, he said.

The nodal agency should be made a supervising agency with the powers like clearing the budget concerned for the two sections for different departments, if the Government feels that the new set up would become a parallel system. He mentioned that the SCs used to get a lion’s share (about 50 per cent) of housing schemes prior to Indiramma. But, their share had come down drastically now with every poor getting houses sanctioned under the scheme.

Though eligible a majority of SCs were unable to construct houses due to their economic backwardness. The Government must provide teeth to the nodal agency, he felt.

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