In a move hailed by Dalit leaders, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has promised to do away with Section 7 (D) of the Karnataka Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act 2013, which allowed a certain amount of money to be used in exceptional cases on works that cannot be divided and considered such expenditure as “deemed expenditure.”
This was a long-pending demand of several Dalit organisations. A large portion of the total amount had not reached the targeted population and funds were used for general purposes under the provision of section 7(D) of the Act, it was argued.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “Our government intends to utilize the grants allocated under SCSP/TSP Act, 2013 for the empowerment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities only. In this regard, as per the long pending demands of Dalit Organizations and intellectuals, section 7(d) of the Act will be rescinded.”
