SCP Allocations in Bihar's Budget (2011-12) - A Plate Too Peppered!

Anindo Banerjee

Imagine a hungry stomach, denied of food for long, being suddenly served a surfeit of diet, but containing a queer mix of iron scraps, rubber and grass! 

This is precisely what the Government of Bihar seems to have done in response to the longstanding demand of dalit organizations for a proportionate allocation of state’s budget for Scheduled Castes, in keeping with the proposition of Special Component Plan, first mooted under the sixth five-year plan. As per the proposition, the annual budgets of government departments are required to contain allocations matching the population proportion of Scheduled Castes for meeting the development needs of the latter. Also, according to Planning Commission’s directive to states (DO No. M-13054/2/2005-BC (Jan 12, 2006), “Only those schemes should be included under SCP that ensure direct benefits to individuals or families belonging to Scheduled Castes”.

The Government of Bihar has earmarked Rs. 4238.94 crore (constituting 17.66% of the total State Plan outlay of Rupees 24,000 Crores) under the Scheduled Castes Special Component Plan (SC-SCP, henceforth) for the financial year 2011-12. These include new budget items worth Rs. 3920.44 Crores under the newly activated code of 789, denoting allocations under SC-SCP. The unprecedented level of allocation for the Scheduled Castes, who account for nearly 15.7% of the state’s population as per Census 2001, is meant to symbolize the Government’s commitment to facilitate large-scale inclusion of dalits in the ongoing development processes in the state. On the face of it, the allocation seems a welcome measure of social justice, in view of the longstanding denial of dalits of their due share in the state’s budgets ever since the idea of SCP was mooted!

Irrational items under SC-SCP – A mockery of the spirit of social equity!

A close look at the SCP allocations in Bihar reveals the meaningless nature of large parts of the SCP outlays for contributing to the development of dalit communities in the state. Some of the absurd allocations under the SCP for the year 2011-12 include the following, amongst others:

·        The Grants-in-Aid for institutions like the Bihar Agricultural University in Bhagalpur, Rajendra Agricultural University, Horticulture College in Nalanda, Agricultural Colleges in Purnea and Shahabad;

·        Loans and advances to Bihar State Hydroelectric Corporation, Bihar State Financial Corporation, Bihar State Electricity Board and Bihar State Investment and Credit Corporation;

·        Minor works for maintenance of private tubewells, conservation of heritage buildings and for meeting capital expenses on minor irrigation schemes, land purchase for road construction and medical colleges; machines and equipment for Medical Colleges, Polytechnics, Engineering Colleges and for promotion of sports.

Construction works amounting to over 809 crores constitute an important category of allocations under the SC-SCP. These include provisions for construction and maintenance of police buildings; stadium and sports structures; irrigation projects of Kosi, Gandak, Sone, Kiul, Badua and Chandan basins; flood control projects of north Bihar; water discharge projects; revival of Zamindari baandhs; construction works related to airports and roads; construction of buildings of hospitals, PHCs and HSCs; construction works related to Bihar Fire Brigade services and Polytechnics and Technical Colleges.

Interestingly, the State Government has booked its entire contributions for implementation of important flagship schemes of the Government of India under SC-SCP, as if these schemes are meant only for the dalit communities! The state contributions for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Indira Awas Yojana, JNNURM, IHSDP, SGSY, NREGS, SJSRY, National Scheme for Development of Sugarcane Best Capping System and several other purposes, collectively amounting to over 971 crores, are all booked under the SC Special Component Plan category. Bihar’s contribution to prevention of Ganga Water Pollution is also expected to be carried out of the SCP allocations.

Similarly, many of the State Government’s schemes are to be financed out of the allocations under the SC-SCP category. These include the provision of over 93 crores for purchase of materials and supplies related to the Mukhya Mantri Poshak Yojana, Mukhya Mantri Cycle Yojana, dress scheme for children of Anganwadi Centres etc. The SCP allocations also include the Grants in Aid relating to Bihar Trade Development Fund, premium for State Crop Insurance Funds, transport provisions for urban local bodies, rural dairy employment schemes and the social security pension schemes sponsored by the state government.

A number of other lumpsum provisions that are as unrelated to the development interests of dalits as chalk and cheese (collectively amounting to over Rupees 928 Crores) have also been budgeted within the category of SC-SCP, including provisions for allowances for elected GP representatives of gram panchayats, gram kutcheries, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads; National E-Governance Scheme (Common Service Centre), State Data Centre, E-governance State Scheme, BSWAN and dissemination Scheme for IT; construction of Panchayat Sarkar buildings; Grants-in-Aid to local bodies, municipal councils and nagar panchayats for water supply and to urban local bodies for sewerage construction; besides lumpsum provisions related to Rashtriya Mashyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, Mukhya Mantri Kanya Vivah Yojana, Mukhya Mantri Nari Shakti Yojana, Mukhya Mantri Kanya Suraksha Yojana, Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme. Such provisions also cover the Backward Regions Grant Fund; conservation of forests and strengthening of infrastructure; water supply in uncovered, partially covered, and poor-water-quality areas and the Minimum Needs Programme, amongst others. 

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