Chhattisgarh among top states in ST/SCs welfare spending

Chhattisgarh figures in the top five states in terms of monetary spending on welfare of tribals and other weaker sections of the society, official sources said today.

Chhattisgarh figures in the top five states in terms of monetary spending on welfare of tribals and other weaker sections of the society, official sources said today.

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The state has joined Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan in allocating funds on welfare schemes of tribals and scheduled castes (SCs) in proportion of their population, they said.

A recent review by the Central Government has pointed out that in fiscal 2008-09, Chhattisgarh spent 83 per cent of the fund under sub-plan on tribal welfare and 78 per cent on the scheduled castes, the sources said.

This puts Chhattisgarh on the top of the five states on the basis of highest spending on weaker sections in proportion of their population, they said.

R P Mandal, Secretary in State’s ST/SC Welfare Department, said the government provides scholarships to ST/SC students from Std III to Std X.

In 2008-09, the state spent Rs 57.18 crore to provide scholarships to over 20.60 lakh students, he added.