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Rangasamy silences his critics

PUDUCHERRY: Chief Minister N.Rangasamy has effectively taken the wind out of the sails of the Opposition parties, alliance partners and critics within the Congress by earmarking Rs.283.33 crore under the Special Component Sub Plan (SCSP) for the welfare of Adi Dravidars in Puducherry.

Welfare Minister and Mr. Rangasamy’s harshest critic M. Kandasamy told the Assembly on Friday that the allocation of 16.19 per cent for the SCSP out of the total plan outlay of Rs.1,750 crore in proportionate to the population of the Adi Dravidars in the Union Territory had won the acclaim of the representatives of Dalit organisations.

The Monitoring Committee on the SCSP, which spearheaded the campaign against the Chief Minister, also thanked him and his Cabinet colleagues for making the budgetary allocation.

It may be recalled that the Chief Minister was in the eye of a political storm during the past six months, as several Dalit outfits alleged that the government had failed to earmark adequate funds under the SCSP as per the Central government’s guidelines.

Things came to a head when Mr.Kandasamy fired his salvo against the administration for “diverting the SCSP funds” for other schemes. He also threatened to take the issue to the notice of the Congress high command if sufficient funds were not allotted under the SCSP in the budget.

The Welfare Minister’s remarks resulted in a debate with more parties and social organisations expressing their displeasure over the “diversion of funds”. However, some political parties pointed out that the fund diversion was not a new development. The government should have allotted a total of Rs. 1,277 crore under the SCSP during the last 28 years, they had said.But the Chief Minister, from the beginning, had been maintaining that his government would not deviate from the Central guidelines on the allocation of funds under the SCSP.

In his budget speech on Thursday, Mr. Rangasamy said the government was taking all efforts for the socio-economic and educational development of the Dalits. “On the recommendations of the Planning Commission and considering the demands of various Scheduled Caste welfare organisations…the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department has been declared as the nodal department for the SCSP,” he added.

To execute the SCSP, Rs.153 crore had been earmarked, he said, adding that this was 17 per cent of the general plan outlay of Rs.899.69 crore excluding provision under Negotiated Loans, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and the tsunami rehabilitation. “This fund will be utilised for the provision of infrastructure facilities such as roads, drinking water, drainage, electricity, education and health and to implement them in a focussed manner,” he said.

The government also proposed to give special attention to increase the income of people living below-the-poverty-line through various income generating schemes implemented by departments of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Mr. Rangasamy said. Apart from this, the government would earmark Rs.130.33 crore for the development of the Scheduled Castes under Negotiated Loans, he added.

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