Jharkhand govt to frame law to prevent diversion of TSP funds: Minister

Ranchi, Feb 26 (PTI) Jharkhand minister Chamra Linda on Thursday announced that the state government would frame a law to prevent the diversion of Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) funds so that they could be used entirely for the benefit of the tribal population.

Replying to a question in Jharkhand assembly, the Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, Minority and Backward Class Welfare minister Linda said there is no monitoring agency over the TSP funds in the state, due to which it is "misused" by some departments.

"Apart from our department, the TSP funds are also received by other departments. The record of use of funds is kept only by the respective departments. Since we receive funds for targeted schemes, there is hardly any chance of its diversion. There are instances of misuse of funds by other departments by diverting it to non-scheduled areas. In our state, there is no monitoring agency to look into the irregularity," Linda said.

He said they need a law to prevent diversion of TSP funds, as it was done in Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

"The Andhra Pradesh government introduced an Act in this regard in 2013. We have decided to visit Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh to study their Acts so that a similar law could be framed for Jharkhand," the minister added.

The TSP funds aim to bridge the socio-economic gap between Scheduled Tribes and the general population, ensuring to promote rapid development, reduce poverty and protect against exploitation.

Congress MLA Rajesh Kachchap raised the issue of TSP fund during Question Hour and wanted to know if the fund was being diverted and used in non-scheduled areas.

Dumri MLA Jairam Mahto raised the issue of OBC students not getting scholarships and sought a government reply on whether it is considering paying the scholarship from the state fund.

Responding to this, Linda accused the Centre of not releasing funds for OBC students' scholarships.

"For students of class 1 to 8, there is no issue. The main issue we are facing is for students from class 9 to 12, as we are not receiving funds from the Centre. The scholarship amount is given to students by the state and Centre in a ratio of 60:40. According to a clause, the state cannot release its part until the Centre releases its funds," Linda said.

Giving a figure, the minister said they had demanded Rs 67.88 crore in 2023-24, Rs 66.24 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 45.91 crore in 2025-26 from the Centre for OBC scholarship for pre-matric students, but received Rs 60.35 crore, Rs 12 crore and Rs 3.95 crore in the respective years.

Similarly, the state demanded Rs 271 crore, Rs 325 crore and Rs 370 crore in 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26, respectively, from the Centre for post-matric students but received Rs 77 crore in 2023-24, Rs 33 crore in 2024-25 and not a single penny in 2025-26, the minister claimed.

"The government is concerned over the scholarship issue. So, we are working to abolish the clause so that the state government could release its funds under the scholarship head," Linda said. PTI SAN SAN RG