Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Sept 14: In what could be the example of dilly-dallying approach towards the issues that otherwise require urgent attention, none of the District Development Commissioners and Heads of the various Departments furnished the Sub-Plans for Schedule Tribe and Schedule Caste communities within the latest deadline fixed by the Planning and Development Department.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that as per the guidelines and explicit directions of the Planning Commission of India for preparation of separate Sub-Plans for the development of Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe population, an exercise was initiated by the Planning and Development Department during 2011-12 by entrusting the job to two consultants.
These consultants prepared the base line Sub-Plans for 2011-12 to serve as a basis for preparation of these Sub-Plans for 2012-13 financial year and onwards, sources said, adding last year base line Sub-Plans were prepared with the stipulation that all the villages/ blocks with 50 per cent or above population of SC/ST communities should be treated as basic unit of development and all the beneficiary oriented infrastructure development schemes should be captured accordingly.
However, keeping in view the fact that the SC/ST population is highly scattered through length and breadth of the State, the Planning and Development Department laid down certain conditions for framing of Sub-Plans for SC/ST communities for 2012-13 financial year. These conditions suggest that all the villages and blocks with 40 per cent or above SC/ST population should be treated as basic unit of development instead of 50 per cent as suggested earlier and all the schemes operated upon in villages and CD blocks should be accommodated for SC/ST plans, sources said.
In order to ensure that there is no further delay in the formulation of SC/ST Sub-Plans, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development Department, B B Vyas vide Circular No.04-PD of 2012 dated September 10, 2012 asked all the Administrative Departments, Heads of Departments and District Development Commissioners to work out SC/ST component at least in proportion to the population percentage of SCs/STs, sources said.
“All the Departments and District Development Commissioners were also directed to furnish the Sub-Plans for SC/ST communities for 2012-13 to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics by or before September 15, 2012”, sources said, adding “though the deadline is going to end tomorrow, neither any department nor any District Development Commissioner submitted the Sub-Plans to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics till this evening”.
“Such a dilly dallying approach is being adopted by the officers towards the issue which otherwise requires urgent attention”, sources regretted, adding “due to delay in submission of Sub-Plans by the departments and DDCs, the consolidation of entire data and preparation of State level data base would get stretched”.
In response to a question, sources said, “in the Sub-Plans the DDCs are required to identify the areas inhabited by the SC/ST population, allocations being made for the development of such communities and the status of implementation of schemes meant for these communities”.
“Such a casual approach is being adopted towards the preparation of SC/ST Sub-Plans despite the fact that State Government had to face severe criticism from the Planning Commission of India during the finalization of annual plan for the current financial year in the month of June this year”, sources regretted, adding “the Planning Commission had directed the State Government to ensure preparation of SC/ST Sub-Plans for the current financial year by ending July”.
Sources said that Directorate of Economics and Statistics is likely to issue reminders to the HoDs and DDCs about the circular of the Planning and Development Department for strict compliance within next some days.
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