(FE)
The Centre’s Budget allocations for scheduled castes and tribes’ (SC&ST) welfare could leapfrog 40% if a “new arrangement” proposed by a high-level committee is put in place. The Ratan P Watal committee has recommended that, of the Centre’s scheme funds, SC/ST wellbeing be allocated not less than what corresponds to half of their numerical strength to the country’s total population, official sources told FE. The panel was asked to propose a new formula in this regard given that the practice of Five-year Plan allocations has been dispensed with.
In the 12th Plan period (FY13-17), SC/ST welfare was supposed to receive Plan funds commensurate with these communities’ population, though it actually did not. Although the panel has halved mandatory share, if its proposal is implemented, SC/ST welfare will receive higher outlays because the disbursal is to be made from a much larger pool than Plan funds, namely the “central-sector and centrally sponsored sponsored schemes”. These schemes’ budget outlay for the current financial year is `9.45 lakh crore, up 65% from the Plan budget in FY17.
