Karnataka minister warns of action against departments not furnishing SC/ST funds data

Bengaluru, Aug 20 (PTI) Under fire from opposition parties over alleged diversion of SC/ST funds for Karnataka’s guarantee schemes, state Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa on Wednesday told the Legislative Assembly that he would invoke penal provisions against departments that fail to provide data on beneficiaries.

BJP and JD(S) MLAs questioned the use of Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) funds—earmarked for the welfare of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities—for five guarantee schemes of the Congress government.

The Congress government implemented its five pre-poll guarantees after coming to power in May 2023.

The schemes include Gruha Jyothi (200 units of free power per household), Gruha Lakshmi (Rs 2,000 monthly aid for women heads of families), and Anna Bhagya (10 kg of free rice per BPL family member each month).

Defending the funding, Mahadevappa said the SCSP/TSP Act allows it, noting Section 7C mandates spending on SC/ST beneficiaries of common schemes.

“Whether it is the Ganga Kalyana scheme or those under agriculture, irrigation, housing, rural development—if they benefit SC/ST communities, a provision exists under the Act to utilise the funds,” he said.

The Ganga Kalyana scheme is fully subsidised, providing borewells, pumps, and electrification to minorities and small farmers in rural areas.

“In the case of general schemes, SCSP/TSP funds are used only for SC/ST beneficiaries. So it is not misuse, diversion or injustice,” he added.

The minister said all departments have been asked to provide details of SC/ST beneficiaries to ensure proper utilisation of funds. In cases of excess allocation, departments must surrender the money, which would then be re-appropriated.

“The departments have been asked to furnish details. If they fail to do so, the Act itself provides for penal provisions, and I will invoke them,” he warned.

In the current fiscal, Rs 42,017.5 crore has been allocated under SCSP/TSP across 34 departments.

Raising the issue during Question Hour, BJP MLA Chandrappa said that while Rs 42,000 crore has been sanctioned in the budget for the welfare of SC/ST communities, only Rs 7,072 crore was allotted to the Social Welfare Department, with the rest diverted to other departments.

“Why does the government claim credit for allocating Rs 42,000 crore to the Social Welfare Department when its funds are being diverted?” he asked.

BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar noted that the minister had admitted Rs 13,433 crore from SCSP/TSP funds was being used for guarantee schemes in 2024-25.

“The Congress boasts that the SCSP/TSP Act is historic, but the very Act has been misused in the state. The Act states that funds cannot be used for general schemes. Then how were they diverted?” he asked.

Pointing out that Rs 1,537 crore was used for the Shakti scheme, which provides free bus travel for women, Kumar questioned: “How did you identify whether the women travelling by bus were SC/STs?” JD(S) floor leader C B Suresh Babu urged the government not to divert SCSP/TSP funds and to restore those already utilised.

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka alleged that the Congress government had become a “habitual offender” in diverting SC/ST funds. PTI KSU SSK ROH