Bhubaneswar: The ruling Biju Janta Dal (BJD) Tuesday submitted a memorandum to Governor SC Jamir addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention in release of `195-crore central aid sanctioned for the development SC/ST people of the state.
The memorandum said every year the Union government sanctions funds for the development of scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) communities under two heads – Article 275(1) of Indian Constitution and the special central assistance fund.
The fund is released by the Union ministry of tribal affairs. The memorandum said the ministry has sanctioned `96.86 crore under Article 275(1) and `98.09 crore under special assistance fund for 2016-17 fiscal.
However, the party said the ministry had decided that the funds would be allowed to be spent by the state government only after the approval of Annual Action Plan by its Project Appraisal Committee.
“It is a matter of concern that approval for the action plan by the Project Appraisal Committee has been overdue for Orissa, though the state government has submitted utilisation certificates (UCs) on time for the funds it had received under these heads in previous years” the memorandum said.
The BJD further alleged that the Centre is not releasing SC/ST scholarship to the state on time.
The party has urged the President to direct the Centre to take requisite steps to release the funds immediately for the development of SC/ST communities in the state.
Notably, the party had earlier announced that it would hold state-wide protests in front of all integrated tribal development agency (ITDA) offices on this issue November 10.
The state unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, accused the BJD of playing politics over the issue instead of taking up the matter with the Centre.
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