|
-
Group of Ministers suggest
budgetary quota to help SC/STs
-
Minister wants to provide
basic facilities only for villages with SC/ST majority
-
Initiative may not be
Constitutional
|
A sub-group of Ministers on financial controls have agreed to propose to the
Federal Government is considering a proposal that will create a budgetary quota
of 22.5% for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) welfare. Defense
Minister Pranab Mukherjee is reportedly the Chairperson of this sub-group and
that Federal Fertilizers, Chemicals and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan wanted
a 22.5% quota for the SC/ST in the budget.
Paswan discussed this issue with The Pioneer and insisted that “The
recommendation is in consonance with the spirit of the Government's objective
behind setting up the Committee of Ministers on Dalit Affairs. There was total
consensus on the matter in the meeting held.” Paswan, who chairs the sub-group
of Ministers on the basic amenities for SC/STs in the rural and urban areas,
said "Our sub-group of Ministers recently decided to develop all villages with
50 per cent SC/ST population as the Prime Minister's Model Villages. Every such
village (sic) will have all the basic facilities." Per Paswan, there are 38,000
villages in India where the population of SC/ST is up to 50%.
It is commendable that the Federal Government wants to create basic amenities
for these villages and we need more such initiatives for India to become a
major power by 2050. However, it is perplexing how they can differentiate
poverty of peoples based on caste and how they can create such unequal
distribution of wealth.
The Constitution of India does not allow for discrimination on any basis.
Therefore, it is likely that this initiative will be struck down by the courts.
|
