A sharp fall in spending the funds allocated for Scheduled Caste communities in the state in 2022-23, compared to previous years, has picked holes in claims made by Tamil Nadu of being on the forefront of reducing inequalities faced by one of its most disadvantaged segments of the population. With barely only a month to go before the financial year ends, the Adi Dravidar & Tribal Welfare (AD & TW) Department is sitting on Rs 10,466 crore meant to have been spent on the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) this year. The Department, designated as the nodal agency for formulation and implementation of SCSP (Scheduled Caste Sub Plan) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP), in the state has only spent Rs 5,976 crore out of the allocated Rs 16,422 crore. This shows that hardly 37% of the total allocated amount has been spent.
Information obtained from AD & TW, through an RTI filed by a Madurai-base activist, S Karthik, reveals a consistent decline in the expenditure of these allocated funds over the last three fiscal years. While there has been a significant rise in fund allocation after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came to power, unspent funds have also registered a sharp increase. This percentage of funds that remained unspent went up from 6.77%, for the year 2020-21, when the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) was in power to 16.81% in 2021-22, DMK’s first year in power. As per the 2011 census, Adi Dravidars constitute 20.01% (1.44 crore) of the total population of Tamil Nadu (7.21 crore).
A policy note by the AD & TW Department for the year 2022-23, states that Tamil Nadu is a front runner in the country when it comes to spending funds allocated for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It quotes the Index score of 85 for Goal 10 (Reducing inequalities) of Sustainable Development Goals as defined by the Niti Aayog, the state had in 2018. While this is true, the score slipped to 65 in 2019. The state however bettered itself in 2020 scoring 74.
The dismal numbers have led to activists questioning the validity of the DMK’s claims of social justice and the ‘Dravidian model’. Richard Devadoss, the co-convener of Tamilnadu Coalition for SCSP-TSP Legislation said successive governments that came to power in Tamil Nadu, irrespective of whether they were ‘anti-Brahmin’ or not have always been ‘anti-Dalit’, despite their grounding in Dravidian politics.
C Lakshmanan, Associate Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), said the AIADMK and the DMK are the same when it comes to treatment of Dalits. “Actually, the DMK does worse. Social justice is not just about caste-based reservation. But in Tamil Nadu the idea of social justice has become equated with reservation. Social justice is about the overall development of a community. The Sub Plan funds are an essential component of social justice,” he said.
Dalit-feminist writer, activist and former IAS officer P Sivakami said reduced spending needs to be condemned as the government responsible for it calls itself ‘pro-Dalit’ and promises a 'Dravidian model’. “I don’t see any difference between the AIADMK and the DMK,” said Sivakami.
Another trend to be observed from the six years worth of data is the amount that has been spent on a category called ‘indivisibles’. This amount essentially falls under schemes that are not customised for Dalit communities but are for general welfare such as the building roads or water tanks. This expenditure on ‘indivisibles’ as shown by RTI data is Rs 8,867 crore for the past six years. Of this Rs 958 crore was spent during the DMK regime.
P Sivakami explains why this trend of ‘indivisibles’ is not beneficial to Dalit communities. “Spending on electricity or roads from these funds will benefit only the dominant castes in the area who already have better access and resources at their disposal. Instead, the state government should be focusing on specialised schemes. Why can’t they, for example, focus on the 480 villages across Tamil Nadu that have been identified as sensitive to caste-clashes? After all, these clashes most often occur precisely over shared water tanks or public roads and public lands. The Sub Plans funds, in that case, should likewise be spent in areas like these to build separate water tanks.”
She says multiple state government departments should be held to account for spends on ‘indivisibles’. “There is no point in asking only Kayilvizhi Selvaraj (Minister for AD & TW), who is the junior-most in the hierarchy, to be accountable. The state’s Finance Minister, Palanivel Thiyagarajan on the other hand, is answerable to the public, to Dalits, the state government and to the press. If a particular associated department is not doing its job correctly, he should be the one to pull them up,” she said.
When TNM reached out to the Finance Minister Palanivel Thiyagarajan, he said, “I don't have the data in my hands". He also said that he could not comment immediately. Minister Kayilvizhi Selvaraj too declined to comment, saying she could not do it immediately. The article would be updated once TNM receives her response. Punidha Pandian, a member of the Tamil Nadu Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Commission also refused to comment.
Activists feel it’s difficult to establish accountability when it comes to administering SCSP and TSP funds and have been pushing for a special legislation. Richard Devadoss told TNM that their coalition has handed over a draft People’s Bill, which can address the issue, to Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader and MP Thol. Thirumavalavan. “The Bill has been passed on to Chief Minister MK Stalin. Multiple copies of the Bill have also been submitted to various state departments and to a secretary in the CM’s office,” he said. Alluding to the success of a similar legislation in Telangana, Richard feels legislation will lead to accountability. When punitive action can be taken, under-utilisation of funds would be minimised, he said.
Edwin, Programmes Director of the Citizens Vigilance and Monitoring Committee (CVMC), said the legislation has to be brought in along with a complete change in implementation mechanisms. “The CM needs to involve civil society and activists who have been working on highlighting the failings of the Sub Plan for years. If Stalin wants to deliver social justice, he cannot rely on the same systems of mere bureaucracy like his predecessors did,” he said.
Lakshmanan said states like Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh already have specific legislation for implementation of the Sub-Plan. “Legislation gives legitimacy. But at the same time, political commitment is also needed. The AIADMK and the DMK seem antithetical to the ideas behind the Sub Plan,” he said. Without willingness from political authority and bureaucratic power to implement the legislation, things may not work on the ground. “For instance, we have the Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled CastesScheduled Tribes Act, but its implementation leaves much to be desired,” he said.