Uniform fund allocation for welfare schemes

Hyderabad: The State government plans to bring in a Uniform fund allocation for the welfare schemes in 2017-18.With a uniform fund benchmark the expenditure incurred by students of different communities will be targeted and stopped such as State BC Welfare department incurs Rs 60,000 per student in residential and Gurukulam schools, SC and ST communities incur Rs 65,000 and for minorities it is about Rs 1.40 lakh per annum.

A ‘uniform benchmark’ in the allocation of funds is what the government is keen on in the allocation of funds to many departments. The decision was taken after a recent audit showed huge discrepancies.

Officials said that the disparities in the expenditure incurred for the students belonging to different communities cost heavy financial burden on the State exchequer.

At present, nearly Rs 7,000 crore was being allocated to run BC, SC and ST welfare educational institutions and Rs 600 crore was earmarked for minority Gurukulams this year.

Government is estimating that the new uniform system would help save nearly Rs 2000 crore every year and the same amount would be utilised for new schemes to be introduced one year before the 2019 assembly elections.

Taking serious note of it, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao instructed all the departments concerned to rectify the errors in the allocations and also spending of money.

The heads of all welfare departments were holding a series of meetings to finalise uniform fund allocations for all community students from next financial year.

Similarly, government identified some more economic supporting schemes meant for different communities where it found variations in fund allocations and utilisation, officials said that as Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao accorded top priority to welfare schemes in 2017-18 financial year, uniformity in the fund flow would be brought into force.

It may be mentioned here that brides are given Rs 51,000 under the government’s flagship program Kalyana Laxmi for BC and SC communities and Shaadi Mubarak for Muslims.

KCR has already taken up the exercise to bring in uniform benchmark in the fund allocation to similar schemes for different communities by holding marathon meetings with the concerned officials.