Minority Welfare Funds go unused in States in India
(August 06, 2010) A central government welfare program in India, introduced for religious
minorities in 90 poverty-stricken districts, has failed since most states did not
utilize the funds, reports say. Barring Orissa, no other states have utilized even
50 per cent of the funds allocated to it under the “multi-sector development program
for minorities.” The program, an offshoot of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 15-point
plan for minorities, is being implemented in 90 districts of the country, that have
at least a 25 per cent minority population, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist or Parsi.
The majority of districts lie in four states, namely, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal
and Bihar. West Bengal has used only 13 per cent of the central funding available
to it and Bihar just 19 per cent, the Hindustan Times said in a report on August 2nd.
The laxity is said to be due to political reasons. States elections are due Bengal
in April next year and Bihar this October. Overall, just 20 per cent of the Rs 253,110
million allocated to the program most of it from the Centre has been used by the States.
Some states like Maharashtra and Karnataka have not even reported how much of the
funds received they have utilized. The program aims to promote inclusive growth,
providing additional allocations to all existing schemes, such as schooling and housing,
so that their skewed socio-economic ratios are corrected.