The funds for tribal welfare are available, but for some reason the 25 departments of the government entrusted with the tribal sub-plan have not succeeded in utilizing all the funds, and in some cases more than 50 per cent is sent back to the government. This could be a case of departments not paying enough attention to the welfare of tribals or money being redistributed for other purposes.
Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadkar had informed the Assembly that of the Rs 426.53 crore allocated for tribal welfare in 2013-14, a whopping Rs 252.66 crore remained unutilized. In that year, the tribal welfare department hardly spent more than 30 per cent of its allocation for development of the community. Utilisation in 2015-16 was marginally better with the tribal welfare department utilizing over 50 per cent of its allocation. In the same year, the electricity department used Rs 20.22 crore of the Rs 25 crore allotted to it while the public works department spend a mere Rs 13.44 crore of the allotted Rs 50 crore. The agriculture department fared the best by utilizing 94 per cent of the funds allocated to it. The department of higher education returned the entire Rs 60 lakh while the directorate of fisheries used only 20 per cent of the fund.
This story of non-utilisation of funds is virtually the same for all departments and even though most departments fared better that in the previous year, there is cause for concern. In Goa, tribals constitute 10.23 per cent of the population. The largest concentration of tribals is in Salcete, followed by Ponda, Quepem and Tiswadi. The Gowda community forms 71.45 per cent of the ST population in the State followed by Velips with 21.46 per cent. Kunbis comprise a mere three per cent. The tribal sub-plan was introduced by the Centre 25 years after Independence as it was noticed that despite implementation of four Five Year Plans and three annual plans, integration of tribals into the main stream was far from being achieved. It was then determined that non-allocation of funds was the root cause.
Fund allocation under the tribal sub-plan is not a sure way of helping them, even though it does take care of the issue of funds. The larger problem lies with diversion of funds. When funds are not utilized they revert back to the government for allocation to other projects. The fact that half the funds were not utilized by the departments means the money has been reallocated. The only way to stop diversion of funds is by ensuring that they go into a separate account. The other problem lies with accountability. Every year a study ought to be made to ascertain how funds are utilized and how they benefit tribals. A report card must be prepared by each department to track these welfare measures so that the scheme is not reduced to just spending money.
