The recent controversy over the denial of access for a Scheduled Caste family to a burial ground in Vellore district has exposed shortcomings in the government schemes for the purpose of creating burial grounds and laying pathways to such places, activists say.
The State government’s Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department implements two schemes, one of which deals with the provision of land for burial grounds and formation of pathways to the grounds. Another scheme pertains to laying link roads to habitations of the SCs and pathways to burial grounds. Of the two, the former gets higher allocation of funds than the latter. For the current year, ₹75.84 lakh has been set apart for the two schemes put together.
D. Ravi Kumar, VCK general secretary, says the Vellore episode is only a symptom of the deeper problem that affects the SCs. The two schemes and many others, meant for the welfare of the community, are being implemented “rather mechanically”. What is required is a ‘proactive’ approach, he contends. He says that invariably, the burial grounds for SCs are located on ‘poramboke’ lands without direct control of the local bodies. In Karnataka, all burial grounds for SCs come under the supervision of the authorities. This model can be replicated in T.N., he suggests.
K. Jayakumar, TNCC working president, says that to eliminate the problem, the government could either ask the SCs to submit petitions, mentioning their requirements for burial grounds, or direct Tahsildars and other field officials to furnish full details of the locations of burial grounds for the SCs and present proposals for new facilities.
Amshan Kumar, director of the film Manusangada , which was based on an incident of denial of access to a burial ground in Nagapattinam district in January 2016, says only strict enforcement of laws meant for the welfare of the SCs, coupled with the media’s sustained focus on issues concerning them, will ensure a qualitative change in the situation.
When his reaction was sought to criticism about the efficacy of the government schemes in light of the Vellore incident, Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar said that since the matter was ‘sub-judice’, he would not like to comment.
Published - August 27, 2019 12:48 am IST
