Panels to Monitor Welfare Schemes

The Union Government has constituted five regional subcommittees to monitor development and supervise the implementation of the Minority related welfare and development schemes. The committees will tour the 90 district covered under the Multi-Sectoral  development Programme (MsDP) of the Ministry of Minority Affairs and assess the progress of the development programmes for
which the Union G o v e r n m e n t has allocated huge amount of funds under the 11th Five-year Plan. The initiative has been
taken following complaints about lacunae in the implementation. It  was being pointed out that though the funds were being spent in  he zearmarked districts, they were not benefitting areas with minority concentration. The non-minority NGOs were taking advantage of the provisions and were utilizing funds for schemes targeted at general populace rather than the minorities who were supposed to
be the prime beneficiaries. One of the subcommittees headed by Mr. P. A. Inamdar of Pune recently met Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibbal and discussed the enhancement of allocation for scholarships schemes for the minorities. A joint meeting of all the subcommittees would be held in Delhi shortly to prepare a comprehensive development programme for all the 90 districts covered under the MsDP. Under the MsDP, f u n d s have been allocated to improve physical c o n d i t i o n of schools, hospitals, provide housing, drinking water facilities and set up units for generation of renewable energy and cooperatives etc. Majority of these districts are concentrated in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Christian populated stated of the North East.