(a) whether there are certain States which have not fully utilized the allocation
made for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes and have utilized the funds
elsewhere; and
(
(b) if so, the details thereof and the efforts made by the Union Government to
ensure proper use of this fund?
MINISTER OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI P.R. KYNDIAH)
(a) No such case of diversion of funds has come to the notice of this Ministry
during the last years.
(b) To prevent misappropriation of funds and to ensure their proper utilization,
the Government has taken several measures, which include:
(i) Utilization Certificates are insisted upon as a pre-requisite for
further release of funds;
(ii) Periodic progress reports regarding the status of implementation of
schemes are obtained;
(iii) Central Government Officers undertake on the spot visits to the
States/UTs for ascertaining the progress of implementation of
schemes;
(iv) Meetings/conferences are convened at the Central level with State
Secretaries of Tribal Welfare Departments to ensure timely
submission of proposals, speed up implementation of schemes, and
review physical and financial progress.
(v) At the State/field level, the agencies, like, Tribal Advisory
Council, project Implementation Committees of ITDP`s and
Panchayat Samitis also monitor timely spending of funds and
effective implementation of schemes;
(vi) To avoid delays in disbursement of funds by the
State/Plan/Finance and Tribal Welfare Departments to the line
departments/implementing agencies, the guidelines for allocation
and utilization of SCA to TSP have since been revised with the
provision of ITDA/ITDP-wise earmarking of SCA funds. It has
been provided in the guidelines that all States/UTs should ensure
that assessment of actual programmes/schemes implemented under
TSP on socio-economic condition of the tribals covered under
ITDPs, MADAs, Clusters, PGTs, as the case may be, should
specifically be undertaken.
(vii) In the case of the schemes implemented through the Non-
Governmental Organisations (NGOs), funds are released after an
assessment of the standing of the NGO, past performance etc.
Apart from thee periodic progress reports, the NGOs are required
to furnish annual accounts and audited reports and utilization
certificates on the basis of which further release of funds are made.
Inspection of NGOs is also undertaken through State
Governments/U.T. officials and other authorities, and also by the
Central Government officers.