The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ordered notice to the Centre and the State on a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to the authorities to recollect ₹265 crore that was handed over as unused funds by the State to different departments.
A Division Bench of Justices R. Mahadevan and J. Sathya Narayana Prasad ordered notice on the petition filed by S. Karthik of Madurai, who sought a direction to the State to recollect the unused fund of ₹265 crore and utilise it for the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes.
He said the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department had allocated ₹1,310 crore for the welfare of tribal communities in Tamil Nadu, and ₹1,045 crore of the fund was utilised and ₹265 crore was returned as unused fund to other departments during the financial years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-2021.
The unused fund should not have been diverted to other departments considering the fact that tribal communities in the State were in need of basic amenities. Though various schemes had been launched for the welfare of the tribal communities, they had not been implemented properly, the petitioner complained.
The authorities should ensure that the tribal communities had access to basic infrastructure. People belonging to the tribal communities were not even provided the compensation amount as per the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he complained.
The petitioner said a special committee, comprising officials, experts and activists, should be constituted in every district to ensure proper implementation of plans and projects for the upliftment of the tribal communities and full utilisation of the funds allocated for the welfare of the STs. The court adjourned the hearing in the case by two weeks.
