Govt starves TSMFC of funds, slew of schemes go for a toss

Hyderabad: TS Minority Finance Corporation gasping for breath due to financial crunch. Despite Rs 432 cr budget allocations, nothing has been sanctioned, impacting the implementation of different schemes that have been in the pipeline for months.

According to highly placed sources, the proposals for supporting small businesses have been submitted to the government. This includes a bank linked subsidy scheme of Rs 50,000 intended to cover maximum beneficiaries. There is a proposal for helping out the unemployed with auto rickshaws and for women with sewing machines, besides offering e-cabs numbering around 2,000.

“This is the third quarter of the financial year, and the corporation has no funds to support the schemes. We have urged the government to at least release a quarter of the allocations. This will at least aid Rs one crore to each of the constituencies and set the ball rolling,” informed the sources.

Similar is the situation for other Minority Departments including TS Urdu Academy and Haj Committee, which have a budget of over Rs 300 crore. Despite Urdu being the second official language of State, all the important schemes related to the academy remain in cold storage.

With the total budget of Rs 3,000 crore for Minority Welfare of lion’s share was allocated to TMREIS (now TGMREIS), the Minority Residential Schools with Rs 1,000 crore.

Questions are being raised as to how this would be spent within a few months before the fresh budget comes. “Merely increasing the budget to Rs 3,000 crore will be of no help when there are no sanctioned funds.

I doubt the present government, which is boastful of supporting the minority, would be utilising at least one third of the funds earmarked for this financial year.

It’s just ten days to flip over the calendar's page to November. Will this government be able to carry forward the budgetary allocations, or is it ready to spend in just three to four months?” asks Syed Ifteqar Hussani, an activist.

Meanwhile, Government Advisor (SC, ST, OBC, and Minorities), Shabbir Ali, recently answering questions on budget crunch at the Haj Committee, said there was no dearth of budget funds. “No Haji will have problems this season. There remains no dearth of funds from budgetary allocations,” he maintained