The State Cabinet that is meeting in Belagavi on December 7 is likely to take a decision on scrapping provision Section 7D in the Karnataka Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act, 2013 that entails deemed expenditure.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier announced that the deemed expenditure provision would be withdrawn as the allocation to SC/ST communities had been diverted citing the provision, and various factions of Dalit Sangharsha Samithi too had demanded withdrawal of the provision.
“In the last financial year alone, the BJP government diverted ₹10,000 crore, misuing the deemed expenditure clause. In all about ₹20,000 crore is estimated to be the amount diverted in the last three years,” sources said. The major diversions have taken place in water resources, minor irrigation, public works and revenue departments.
Sources said that the issue will be discussed in the Cabinet, and efforts would be made to move the bill in the current winter session.
As the current government has used Section 7C of the Act to divert ₹11,000 crore meant for the welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes to fund the five guarantees of the Congress party, the Social Welfare Department has sought data on utilisation and number of beneficiaries in each department to prevent diversion of funds meant for the community’s welfare.
