New Delhi: NITI Aayog has been asked to explore ways to find out how allocations under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-plan can be made non-lapsable.
The decision was taken at a recent meeting on Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) monitoring framework chaired by the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Also, to put an end to the tussle between the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and NITI Aayog over the monitoring of SCSP, it was decided that SCSP will now be monitored by the ministry.
Similarly, the TSP will be monitored by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
“Both the ministries (SCSP and TSP) will develop monitoring based on the framework designed by NITI Aayog. The system will be put in place in 60 days and will focus not just on financial allocations and utilisation but also on outcomes,” according to an official document.
SCSP and TSP mandate every central ministry to allocate budget for the welfare of Dalits and tribals.
“NITI Aayog will examine if the allocations under the SCSP and TSP be made non-lapsable in addition to the non-divertible. NITI Aayog may examine this in consultation with the relevant ministries and Cabinet Secretariat and recommend appropriate action,” the official document stated.
“A major chunk of the funds allocated under the SCSP and TSP by different ministries remain unutilised and goes back to exchequer at the end of fiscal.
“Now NITI Aayog has been asked to explore ways to see if the allocated amount under these schemes can be made non- lapsable so that the unutilised amount remains in the corpus and carried forward in the next fiscal,” said a government official.
Tribal Ministry allocated Rs. 1,250 crore under the TSP for the fiscal 2015-16 out of which Rs. 1,132 crore could be utilised.
Similarly, around Rs. 4,500 crore was allocated by Ministry of Social Justice in the last fiscal of which around Rs. 3000 crore could be utilised.
PTI