NewsCentral : New Delhi: Sunday, September 02, 2018.
The BJP government did not even utilise almost half of the funds that the previous UPA govt had released.
In four years, the Narendra Modi government has not released any funds for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers, reported The Wire. Neither has the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government utilised nearly half of the funds released for the purpose by the preceding UPA government.
According to the Right to Information (RTI) filed by The Wire, Rs 55 crore was released in 2013-14, by the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
A total of Rs 226 crore was released between 2006 and 2013, under the ‘Self Employment for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS)’ scheme. Since the Modi government came to power in 2014, no further money has been released by the centre.
From the funds released by the UPA government, the BJP government gave cash assistance of Rs 40,000 to 8,627 people in 2015-16. However, only 365 manual scavengers have received cash assistance this year.
Ramon Magsaysay award winner and founder of the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA), Bezwada Wilson, said, “There is no comprehensive thought regarding rehabilitation. The government wants to get rid of manual scavengers. This is not an adequate scheme. It does not count female sanitation workers. The government hands out loans according to the scheme, but people are afraid of taking loans for fear of not being able to pay them back.”
“The government says do business, but how can they do business after society has kept them under its heels for so long? Doing business requires basic access to know-how. Handing out loans does not translate to business; for that training is required,” Wilson added.
The RTI further reveals that in 2015-16, Rs 36 crore sanctioned for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers, was left unused. Similarly, in the financial year 2017-18, more than Rs 24 crore was left untouched.
Until September 22, 2017, the government did not spend a single rupee.
Launching an attack on the Modi government, Wilson said, “This government wants nothing to do with manual scavengers. Building toilets is their hobby. Manual scavengers have been carrying the excrement of our society on their heads for centuries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks profusely of his ‘Mann ki Baat’, but the manual scavenger has never featured in any discussion on his mind’s preoccupations.”
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