SC/ST funds sidetracked in Palamuru

​Mahbubnagar: The SC/ST sub-plan funds meant for the development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) regions in the district are sidetracked as Municipal authorities are spending these funds only on the areas of their choice ignoring the undeveloped tribal and Dalit hamlets.

In the last three years, not even 20 per cent funds allocated under the SC/ST sub-plan in the district were spent towards the development of these areas. For the year 2015-16, the state government had allocated to Rs 5.69 crore under the untied Mahbubnagar district including Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool, Gadwal and Narayanpet municipalities.

However, but not even 20 per cent of these funds were spent as per the sub-plan. As per the municipal records, it is believed that 80 per cent of SC/ST funds were spent on the development of CC roads and drainages in SC colonies and ST Thandas.

However, the ground realities are totally contrary to the records. If one goes and investigates the field realities, only those regions inhabited by rich and elite boast roads, while SC colonies and ST Thandas on the outskirts are devoid of even mud roads.

For instance, the Vaddera Basti and Lambada Thanda near Shashagutta do not have proper drainage facility and no CC roads. Similarly, the Harijan Church and Old Palamuru areas, where thousands of poor SCs and STs are living, do not have even proper drinking water pipelines.

They have to depend on hand pumps or broken Ramanpad pipeline for drinking water. The villages towards the Bhootpur road which were recently merged with the Mahbubnagar municipality also have not seen the development activities like construction of CC roads, drainages and water pipelines in the last three years.

This evidently proves that the SC/ST sub-plan funds are being side tracked and not spent for what they were intended for. In fact, whenever the government releases the sub-plan funds, the governing body of the municipality has to conduct a meeting with all the councilors and should take the suggestions and ideas of the SC, ST councilors.

Based on this, a detailed survey has to be done before allocating the funds for the development of SC, ST Colonies in the district. However, nothing of this sort seems to be happening and the municipal authorities are allocating funds to only regions where rich and elite reside ignoring the SC and ST colonies.

Moreover, there is also lack of awareness among the SC, ST councilors about the SC/ST sub-plan fund and because of which they are kept under darkness and all the funds are being diverted to other regions.

As per the records available, the funds allocated for the year 2015-16 under SC/ST sub-plan for major municipalities in erstwhile united Mahbubnagar include Rs 2.75 crore for SCs and Rs 1.33 crore for STs.

Gadwal received Rs 29.77 lakh for SCs and Rs 1.16 lakh for STs, Narayanpet Rs 8.56 for SCs and Rs 30.84 for STs, Wanaparthy Municipality got Rs 56.89 for SCs and Rs 42.17 for STs under the SC/ST subplan.

“Earlier there is some discrepancy in the distribution of funds under SC/ ST sub-plan because of lack of proper planning and coordination with councilors.

However, from now onwards we are planning well in advance and identifying all those underdeveloped colonies and areas, and accordingly works of CC roads and drainages would be taken up,” said Ramanamurthy, Executive Engineer, Mahbubnagar.