Wednesday, November 17, 2010

TN’s schemes lack focus on improving plight of dalits

Chennai:

The ongoing schemes by Tamil Nadu government under the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) does not have any specific focus on upgrading the status of the dalits and it should be made meaningful by introducing innovative schemes, according to sources.



A review of various departments done by development commissioner found that funds were diverted for populist schemes by violating rules or either shown outside the budget but included in SCSP.



Interestingly, the official observation comes in the wake of state government providing 100 per cent allocation under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan. The proportion of SC population is 19 per cent and ST is one per cent as per 2001 census.



According to the minutes of the first review meeting on the allocation made to SCSP, which was accessed by Express, it was observed that more than 50 per cent funds were allotted to populist schemes like Dr Muthulakhsmi Reddy Maternity Welfare Scheme and Kalaignar Life Insurance scheme which is higher than the 19 per cent funds earmarked for dalits.



Surprisingly, the percentage was determined by bilateral discussion with head of the health department and special secretary finance. In the process, Government Order 134 issued on October 2006 was violated requiring the mandate of the secretary, adi-dravidar and tribal welfare.



“The misuse of SCSP funds is due to deliberate attempts of dalit leadership inside or outside the regime who remain silent spectators or power brokers. They don’t see the concern of the people due to their vested interest,’ said Madras Institute of development studies professor Prof C Lakshmanan.



“The government is shedding crocodile tears on dalit issues while supporting corrupt dalit leaders like former telecom minister on one end and neglecting the genuine concerns of the dalits on the other hand,” he added.



Similarly, the review of LPG connection scheme and interest subsidy to cooperative societies, found out that the proportionate flow to SCSP was on the high side. And interestingly, it is not supported by expenditure figures of the previous years. “The secretary should take an appraisal of the SC schemes and then reduce the size of the flow to the required minimum,” it was observed.



In the energy department, which consumes 80 per cent of plan allocation, a total of Rs 85.94 crore was shown against SCSP and no reasons were given on why the amount shown outside the budget was included in SCSP. Moreover, no sub-head neither any government order exist for this allocation.



While on paper, it seems that huge chunk of funds are allocated for the betterment of dalits in the state but in realty nothing has changed as the grants never percolate to the needy. It is time the government has to rethink its strategy for uplift of dalits by focusing on education and health instead of focusing on populist schemes like free colour TVs, a dalit activist said

Contradictory GOs deny scholarship to students

Chennai:

Unreasonable restrictive state orders have denied scheduled castes from availing the full benefits of Government of India Post Matric Scholarship, which provides 100 per cent reimbursement of studies in private and self-financing institutions, according to official sources.



Sources said that though participation of dalits in arts and science courses is high, but in engineering and medical streams it has dipped due to financial inability and lack of adequate funding by supportive scholarship schemes.



Even the Government Orders (GOs) issued in providing post-matric scholarship is contradictory. While there is a GO that restricts Post Matric Scholarship scheme, it cannot be operationalised by another GO issued by the Higher Education department that has made education free for all.



Similarly, the GO by Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department is contradictory to the GO of education department which provides benefit to first generation graduates studying in self-financing institutions since the self-financing colleges is taken out of the purview of SC/ST post matric scholarship.



While states like Karnataka and Puducherry has enforced the Thorat Committee report on “Empowerment of SCs for 11th five-year plan’ by making the social welfare department or the department concerned with the development of SCs as nodal department for formulation and implementation of schemes relevant to SC and earmarking funds for it. But in Tamil Nadu, the Adi Dravidar and Tribal welfare department, which is the nodal agency for SC welfare, has no provision of Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan budget under it.



The review meeting observed that the higher education department should enable SCs to establish educational institutions, create corpuses under respective universities with their own funds enabling SCs to take up research studies besides revival of earlier orders of Adi-Dravidar and Tribal welfare department for sponsoring a minimum of 100 SC students for higher studies abroad.



Meanwhile, the development commissioner hailed the role of school education department in making a positive impact on participation of SCs. “The enrolment of SCs at all levels from 1st to 12th standard is at least two per cent higher than the General Enrolment Ratio as state has made education upto 12th standard free for all,” it was observed

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Indians languishing in foreign jails due to lack of free legal aid

Chennai:


Many Indian workers working abroad are silently languishing in jails or are being exploited by their sponsors due to lack of free legal aid in foreign countries, say legal experts.



“While every citizen has right to free legal aid under Article 21, 22 and 39 A of constitution, there is no procedure to provide legal aid in foreign countries,” says High Court advocate M Pari while ruing the plight of Indian workers languishing in Middle East nations jails or blue collared workers being denied their rights in Malaysia



Interestingly, the Expert Committees on Legal Aid in its recommendations has suggested the creation of a Corporation to provide legal aid to Indian citizens that still has not been implemented for more than three decades.



Even the Madras High Court has observed that large number of Indian labour working in many foreign countries and the ever increasing Indian diaspora face hardship due to disputes arising out of employment, matrimonial and property issues and felt Indians could hardly afford the high cost of litigation in these countries.



In its judgement on March 2010, the High Court judge Justice K Chandru has observed that the Bar Councils of India and the State Bar Councils must establish Legal Aid Funds and provide assistance to Indian workers for fighting their cases abroad by entering into necessary correspondence with their counterpart lawyers abroad and if necessary finance their litigation in foreign courts.



Former State Legal Services Authority member V Kannadasan says Indian embassies lack awareness in this issue and hardly approach National Legal Services Authority in providing legal aid to Indian citizens abroad. He says National Legal Services Authority can coordinate with the lawyers in foreign countries and bear the expenses of Indians there. “However, till now NLSA hasn’t come to the aid for Indian workers abroad,” he says while highlighting the plight of his client who is languishing in a Saudi jail since September 2009 without legal aid.



“My client got a job of driver in Saudi Arabia. He was arrested while his vehicle was involved in a minor accident resulting in minor scratches to a car in 209. Now he is in jail without legal assistance,” says Kannadasan.



Advocate Pari, who is fighting a case related to Indian workers kept as bonded labourers in Malaysia, alleges that while crores, which are being allotted to legal services authority by the Indian government, is being used in collecting money from the clients of foreign banks nothing has been done to improve the plight of Indian workers caught in a legal tangle. “Why not spend it on Indian workers abroad who pump in millions of rupees as foreign exchange,” he says



Bernard D Samy, coordinator of Arunodhaya Migrant Workers, says most of the workers who leave Indian shores illiterate or semi-literate and end up as undocumented in foreign countries as their visas would have expired while stressing on the need for Indian government to tie-up with civil society groups to promote legal aid to its citizens. He also says many lawyers are shy of taking up the issue as there is not enough evidence to proceed against the erring companies due to lack of contractual papers or valid permits