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SPECIAL COMPONENT PLAN FOR SCHEDULED CASTES AND TRIBAL SUB-PLAN FOR SCHEDULED TRIBES AND

SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES(PLANNING, ALLOCATION AND UTILISATION OF

FINANCIAL RESOURCES) Bill 2013

Th e National Coalition on SCP and TSP Legislation8/1, 2nd Floor, South Patel Nagar, New Delhi -110008

Ph:011-2584 2249 Fax: 011 2584 2250

What does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognises liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life. These principles of liberty, equality and fraternity are not to be treated as separate items. They form a union in the sense that, to divorce one from the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy. Liberty cannot be divorced from equality, nor can liberty and equality be divorced from fraternity.

— B R Ambedkar

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Th e National Coalition on SCP TsP Legislation owes the present draft legislation to many persons who have contributed through various processes over the past two years from 2011. Th e National Coalition was constituted by many civil society organizations, Employee Unions, professionals and concerned citizens voluntarily coming together to highlight the need for legislation on the eff ective implementation of SCP and TSP schemes. Many have shared their expertise and experience to draft various sections to give it as comprehensive a shape as possible. Th e process which has led to this stage has a long history behind it.

Shri PS Krishnan has been key to this process who has been impressing upon the government the need to improve the utilization and implementation of this important Plan instrumentality for the last three-and-half decades. Shri Justice K. Ramaswamy has formulated a draft and together with Shri PS Krishnan has submitted to the Planning Commission. Shri Ravi Kumar of National Dalit Federation has initiated a process of facilitating a collective draft together with the earlier drafts. A group consisting of Shri K. Mad-hav Rao, Shri P. S. Krishnan, Justice K. Ramaswamy, Shri Ravi Kumar and Shri N. Paul Divakar and the resultant draft was handed over to the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Planning Commission in its last meeting in 2011. Experts who contributed are Shri K. Raju, IAS, Shri R. C. Gandhi IAS Rtd, Shri P. Danam IAS Rtd, Shri Subhaiah IAS Rtd, Shri Venkataiah IAS, ShriJohn Kumar and Shri Aloysius Irudayam.

Many civil society networks like National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR) through Shri Ashok Bharti, National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW) through Dr. Ruth Manorama, National Con-federation of SC/ST Employees Unions, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM) through Prof Vimal Th orat and Smt.Asha Kowtal, Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan (DAAA) through Shri Paul Divakar, National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ) through Dr. Prasad Sirivella, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) through Shri Vijay Parmar, Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) through Smt. Deepti Sukumar, Adivasi Solidarity Council (ASC) through Shri K. Krishnan, Jharkhand Jangal Bachao Andolan through Shri Sanjay Bosu Mullick, National Federation of Forest Workers and Forest Peoples through Shri Ashok Choudhary and Smt. Roma, National Federation of Dalit Land Rights Movements through Shri Lalit Babar and Shri Ram Kumar have contributed to this process.

Many other civil society organizations and individuals contributed to the process, in particular Centre for Development Studies (CDS) through Shri Mallepalli Laxmaiah, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS) through Ms Nidhi Sadana, Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion (CSEI) through Ms Annie Namala, Samvaad through Shri Ghanshyam, Social Watch- Tamil Nadu through Shri J. Kumar, Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) through Dr Subrat Das, UN Women through Dr Yamini Mishra, Ms. Dakshita Das former Director-Dept. of Economic Aff airs, Nazdeek through Ms. Sukti Dhital and Ms. Jayshree Satpute, All India Canara Bank SC/ST Associationthrough Mr. Pursottam Das, People’s Monitor-

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ing Committee through Shri.BDA Satyababu Bose, Coorg Organisation for Rural Development through Roy David, SC/ST Sub Plan Nidhula Aikya Karyacharana Committee – Andhra Pradesh.

Needless to say that both the Andhra Pradesh legislation for SCP and TsP and the National Advisory Coun-cil’s broad support to the principles enunciated in the present draft legislation provided an impetus for this movement at the national and state levels.

Th e National Advisory Council and its Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi after due consultations in the work-ing group on Scheduled Castes chaired by Smt. Farah Naqvi and Shri. Harsh Mandar, have written to the Prime Minister, suggesting core principles for the eff ective implementation of SCP and TsP. Th e Bhartiya Janata Party has placed a demand for a Bill in their Manifesto and has extended support. Indian National Congress has promised to bring it as legislation in the Chintan Shivir. CPI and CPI(M) have already taken decisions at their National Conferences to demand for a Legislation for SCP and TsP.

As mentioned above the consultations of the last two years have brought together a number of individuals and civil society organizations who deliberated and contributed to fi nalizing the legislation. We should also mention Shri Azeez Pasha, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha has presented a Private Bill on SCP and TSP legislation in the Rajya Sabha in Dec 2011.

Th e National Coalition secretariat through Shri Sanjay Bharti and Beena Pallical have put in long hours of work in coordinating, organizing and consolidating the drafts.

We would like to thank each one for their contribution to this process and making SCP-TsP legislation an important agenda for the empowerment of Dalits and Tribals in our country, which is a sine qua non for the empowerment of India as a whole.

On Behalf of the National Coalition on SCP-TsP Legislation

PS Krishnan, IAS Rtd N Paul Divakar K. Madhava Rao, IAS RtdAdvisor Convener Co-Convener

K. Krishnan Manorama Ekka Mallepalli LaxmaiahCo-Convener Co-Convener Co-Convener-Advocacy

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THE NATIONAL COALITION ON SCP TsP LEGISLATION- FOUNDING MEMBERS

Th e National Coalition on SCP TsP Legislation consists of several organisations across the country com-mitted to the realization of Special Component Plan for SCs (SCP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TsP). Th e fol-lowing is the list of founding members of the coalition:

NATIONAL

All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations National Action Forum for Social Justice

All India Dalit Mahila Adhikaar Manch National Adivasi Alliance

All India Dalit Rights Federation National Adivasi Solidarity Council

All India Forum for Forest Movements National Advisory Council for Development of Indig-enous Peoples

All India Union of Forest Working People National Alliance Women's Organisation

Ambedkar world Federation of Employees Association National Campaign On Dalit Human Rights

Canara Bank SC/ST Employees Welfare Association National Confederation of Dalit Organisations

Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion National Dalit Forum

Commission on Tribal and Adivasi-NCCI National Dalit Movement for Justice

Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan National Federation of Dalit Women

Ekta Parishad National Forum of Forest Peoples and Forest Workers

Human Rights Advocacy Forum Safai Karmachari Andolan

Human Rights Alert, North East Shoshan Abhiyan Purvi Bharat

National Federation of Dalit Land Rights Movements

ANDHRA PRADESH

Centre for Dalit Studies Sakshi

Dalit Bahujan Front SAMATA

Dalit Bahujan Sramik Union SAMVAD

Gram Navajeevan Samstha SC/ST Sub Plan Nidhula Aikya Karyacharana Committee

People's Monitoring Committee SC/ST officers Forum

Praja Pragathi Trust Society for Women Education

ASSAM

Adivasi Sahitya Sabha Promotion and Advancement of Justice Harmony and Rights of Adivasi

Institute of Integrated Resources Management

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BIHAR

Dalit Adhikar Manch Samvadik Kalyan Evam Vikas Samasthan

PRAXIS

CHATTISSGARH

Jan Jagriti Manch Lok Manch Vikas Samiti

DELHI

All India Federation of Trade Union Indian social Institute, Delhi

Asha Social Welfare society Jhuggi Jhopdi Ekta Manch

ASRA LEDS

Bodhisatv Arthik Samta Samiti Matri Sudha

Dalit Christian Society Mazdoor Yuva Yikas Vikas Samiti

Delhi Forum Nai Dristi-Educational and Cultural Organisation.

Delhi Shramik Sangathan Nazdeek

Domestic Workers Forum PRASAR

Dr. Ambedkar Seti Vikas Va Sanshodhan Sanstha Saheri Adhikar Manch- Begharon ke Sath

Ekta Yuva Mandal Sakasham

Hamari Umeed Sarthak Yuva Kendra

HAQ Sunshine Youth Club

Ideal Youth Club Union of Dalit Organisations (UNIDOR)

Indian Institute of Dalit Studies

GUJARAT

Adivasi Adhikar Abhiyan Janpath

Adivasi Sarvangi Vikas Sangh Janvikas

Antyodaya Vikas Shikshan Centre Lok Adhikar Manch

Bahujan Samajik Trust Manav Garima

Banaskantha Jilla Dalit Sangathan Navsarjan

Behavioural Science Centre Paryavaran Mitra

Budget Advocacy Rajasthan Centre Pathey Budget Centre

Gujarat Dalit Sangathan Shakti-Legal Aid & Human Rights Centre

Gujarat Dalit Vanchit Sangathan

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HIMACHAL PRADESH

Centre for Mountain Dalit Rights People's Campaign for Socio-Economic Equity in the Himalaya

Himalaya Niti Abhiyan

JAMMU & KASHMIR

All Jammu & Kashmir SC Welfare Association

JHARKHAND

Child Rights Alliance Samvad

Hope Jharkhand indegenious people's forum

Jharkhand Jangal Bachao Andolan

KARNATAKA

Dalit Bahujan Andolan Karnataka State Adi Jambava Sangh

Dalit Bahujan Movement Nisarga Foundation

Dalit Women Network Open Space

Human Rights Forum For Dalit Liberation Budakattu krishikara sangha

Indian social Institute, Bangalore Thamate

KERALA

Adivasi People’s Organisation MIRROR

MADHYA PRADESH

Kala Ratan Social Education Society Bharat Mukti Morcha

Akhil Bharat Anusuchit Jati Parishad

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MAHARASHTRA

Campaign for Human Rights ECONET

Aarakshan Hakka Samitee Lok Adhikar Andolan

Adivasi Adhikar Manch MANUSKI

Dalit Vikas Parishad

MANIPUR

Integrated Rural Development Service Organisation

ODISHA

Adivasi Mahila Surakhya Mandal Orissa Regional Organization for Social Action

Ambedkar Lohia Vichar Manch People's Rural Education Movement

Ankuran Tribal Organisations Network

Jal Jungle Zamin Surakhya Manch VICALP

Jana Vikas Action For Rural Upliftment and Planning

Orissa Adibasi Adhikar Manch REISWA

PUNJAB

Dalit Dasta Virodhi Andolan

RAJASTHAN

Astha Sansthan Kotada Adivasi Samstha

Centre for Dalit Rights

TAMIL NADU

Alternative Front for Adivasi Liberation Paalam

Coorg Organisation for Rural Development SASY

Dalit Mannurimai Iyakkam Social Watch

Dalit Mannurimai Koottanaippu Tamilnadu Adivasi Munnetra Sangam

IDEAS Tribal People's Rights Movement

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TRIPURA

Indegenious People’s Front of Tripura Voluntary Mission of Tripura

UTTAR PRADESH

Aasha Gharelu Kamgar Mahila Union

Aashre Jan Seva Sansthan Gramin Vikas Avam Jan Jagaran Samiti

ADHARSHILA Institute of Policy Studies and Advocacy

Aman Samajik sagathan Jan Chetna Lok Kala Samiti

Aman Samajik Sangthan Jan Kalyan samiti

Ambedkar Mahasabha Jan Seva Prasikchan Sansthan

Ambedkar Vikash Manch Jan Seva Sansthan

Asian Bridge India Jatav Sangharsh Samiti

Badhi Manav Kalyan Samiti Lord Buddha Sikshan Sanshthan

Berojgar sangh Lord Buddha Sikshan Sansthan

Bharatiya Jan Seva Ashram Mahatma Jyotibarao Phule Vikas Sewa Sansthan

BIHAN Manav Seva Samiti

Bodhi Manav Kalyan Samiti Nigah Sewa Samiti

Bundelkhand Dalit Adhikar Manch Nirbhay Trust

Center for Monitoring Dalit human Rights People's Media Advocacy and Resource Center

Dalit Action Group Prayatna Foundation

Dalit Adivasi Rights Solidarty Action Network Rastriya Jan Vikas Sansthan

Dalit Gramin Awam Sahri Majdoor union SAGAR

Dalit Jan Jagran Manch SAMRATH

Dalit Vikash Parishad Samudayik Kalyan Awam Vikas Sansthan

Dr. Ambedkar Chhatra Sangthan Samyak Drishti Foundation Trust

Dr.Ambedkar Chetana Samiti Social Action Group For Achievement of Right Society

Dr.Ambedkar Samajik Kalyan Trust Upaj Sanstha

Dynamic Action Group Vansthali Avam Dalit Sewa Sasthan

Genious Children Development Institute

WEST BENGAL

Lalpur Uttarayan

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Chapter I PreliminarySection 1 Title, Extent and Commencement 13

Section 2 Defi nitions 13

Chapter II Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes (SCP) and Tribal sub-Plan (TsP) for Scheduled TribesSection 3 Annual and Five-Year and Perspective Special Component Plans For Scheduled Castes and Tribal Sub-Plans For Scheduled Tribes, Formulation, Allocation of Funds and Voting; 17

Chapter III Constitution, Functions, Duties, Responsibilities and Powers of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development AuthoritiesSection 4 A National Scheduled Castes Development Authority 23

Section 4 B State Scheduled Castes Development Authority 26

Section 4 C District Scheduled Castes Development Authority 28

Section 5 A National Scheduled Tribes Development Authority 29

Section 5 B State Scheduled Tribes Development Authority 32

Section 5 C District Scheduled Tribes Development Authority 34

Section 6 Meetings of Th e Authorities, Review and Monitoring of Implementation of Special Compo-nent Plan For Scheduled Castes and Tribal Sub-Plan: 36

CONTENTSTABLE OF

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Chapter IV GeneralSection 7 Tenure, Terms and Conditions of offi ce of Dy. Chairperson and Other Full-Time Members of Th e National and State Sc and St Development Authorities 37

Section 8 Non-Divertibility and Non-Lapsability 38

Section 9 Provisions of Th e Act - An Additionality 40

Section 10 Accountability and Penalties 40

Section 11 Protection of Th e Action Taken In Good Faith; 42

Section 12 Power of Th e Central and State Governments To Frame Rules 42

Section 13 Power To Remove Diffi culties: 42

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PREAMBLE

Poignantly aware that over the centuries of history the Scheduled Castes have been the victims of the Indian Caste System-with-“Untouchability” (ICS) and subjected to denial of access to livelihood, education and other kinds of resources, and Scheduled Tribes have been relegated to remote areas under vulnerable condi-tions with their land and resources, severely depleted by intrusions into their traditional areas, resulting in systemic deprivation, discrimination, and disadvantage for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, with ad-ditional deprivations and disadvantages aff ecting the Specially Vulnerable Groups (SVGs) among Scheduled Castes and the Particularly vulnerable Tribal Groups (PTGs), and that women, children and other vulner-able groups such as those subjected to manual scavenging and persons with disabilities among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have experienced further marginalization,

Aware of the fact that the Constitution of India 1950 has in its Preamble and in numerous Articles such as Article 46, 15(4), 15(5), 16(4), 16(4A), 16 (4B), 275(1) fi rst proviso and 164(1) proviso, the Articles in Chapter XVI and other Articles and the Fifth and Sixth Schedules, mandated the State in all its limbs and through all its instrumentalities and agencies, to take all measures necessary for removing these deprivations and disadvantages, bring about social equality through various measures of social justice which includes ed-ucational, economic, social, and cultural justice, and establish a regime of all-round equality in the country;

Taking note of the fact that developmental outlays and inputs did not fl ow to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in due measure in the Plans, quantitatively and qualitatively, and the Government of In-dia, therefore, conceived and initiated in 1974 the Tribal sub-Plan (TsP) and 1978 the Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes (SCP) as comprehensive Plan instruments in the Centre as well as States, and all States have accepted them;

Noticing that the SCP and TsP, though they have helped to bring about certain improvements, have, over time, been reduced largely to mere arithmetical, statistical exercises, losing sight of the overarching Con-stitution-based goals of economic liberation, educational parity at all levels, equality in all parameters and security and dignity, and also, in the case of the Scheduled Tribes, preservation of tribal culture, tribal iden-tity and tribal autonomy, restoration to Scheduled Tribes of originally tribal lands, now in the possession or occupation of others, and restoration and protection of traditional access to common resources and natural resources in tribal areas, and, from this perspective, failing to take a holistic view of the needs and priorities of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and accordingly devising programmes and schemes with ad-equate outlays and institutional and organizational arrangements under the SCP and TsP which can fulfi ll the above-mentioned Constitutional goals;

Also noticing that in all parameters of development and welfare there exists a wide and disturbing gap be-tween the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, on the one hand, and the and Socially Advanced Castes

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(SACs), on the other hand, and a greater gap in the case of women of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes;

Taking into account the fact that, the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Planning Commission in keep-ing with the Constitutional mandate, laid down the target of removing these gaps within 10 years in his Address to the 51st meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) on 27. 6. 2005;

Taking into account the candid recognition in the Planning Commission’s Approach to the XII Five Year Plan that there has been defi ciency both at the Centre and in States in the implementation of the SCP and TsP and, therefore, a new system must be devised for the XII Plan which can overcome the diffi culties expe-rienced in the past and ensure that the SCP and TsP are implemented in letter and spirit;

Th is Act, the Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes and Tribal sub-Plan for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Authorities (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act, lays down the legislative framework for planning in all parameters of develop-ment, security and social dignity for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In order to ensure the ac-celerated development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with emphasis on economic, educational and human development and emancipation, with the goal of promoting equity for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and bridging the gaps between Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, one the one hand, and the Socially Advanced Castes, on the other; of which the basic feature is to set apart, as the outlay re-spectively of the SCP and TsP of the Government of India and of each State, not less than the proportion of the SCs population in the country and in each State respectively and not less than the proportion of the STs population in the country and in each State of the total Plan outlay (Annual, Five Year and Perspective Plans of the Centre and each State) as the outlay respectively of the SCP and TsP of the Government of In-dia and of each State, before the total Plan outlay is allocated sector-wise and Ministry-wise / Department-wise; to place these outlays of SCP and TsP at the disposal of empowered Authorities in the Government of India and in each State to undertake planning and allocations for programmes and schemes directly and exclusively relevant to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and issue of sanction of funds, in accordance with the needs and priorities of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in keeping with the overarching Constitutional goals of development of SCs and STs; and to establish SC and ST Development Authori-ties at national, State and district levels, laying down their functions, duties and powers, and guidelines for formulation of SCP and TsP and allocation of outlays, criteria of eligibility for schemes and programmes, systems for participation of SC and ST communities in planning and implementation, and measures of ac-countability and transparency, and provision of penalties for negligence.

Be it enacted by Parliament of India in the sixty fourth year of the Republic of India as follows:

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Chapter – I:

PRELIMINARY

Section 1TITLE, EXTENT AND COMMENCEMENT1. Th is Act shall be called the Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes and Tribal sub-Plan for

Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Authorities (Planning, Al-location and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act.

2. Any provisions made for States in this Act shall also apply to Union Territories with legislature.

3. It shall apply to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

4. Th e State of Jammu and Kashmir will adopt the Act with such modifi cation, as it may consider neces-sary.

5. It shall come into operation with immediate eff ect.

Section 2 DEFINITIONS

In this Act unless the context otherwise requires;

a. “Act” means the Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes and Tribal Sub-Plan for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Authorities (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act, 2013

b. (i) “Special Component Plan for SCs (SCP)” means the Plan to channelize not less than the Scheduled Caste population-equivalent proportion, respectively of the country and of each State and Union Territory , of the total Annual Plan, Five-Year Plan and Perspective Plan outlay of the Union and of each State and Union Territory by setting it apart as the outlay of SCP before the total Plan outlay is allocated sector-wise and Ministry-wise/Department-wise, in order to fulfi ll the over-arching goals or developmental objectives of Scheduled Castes Development, namely, their economic liberation, educational parity at all levels, equality with Socially Advanced Castes (SACs) in all parameters and security and social dignity and to bridge the gaps between SCs and the SACs in all parameters of development and welfare in a reasonable time with particular attention to Specially Vulnerable Groups (SVGs) among Scheduled Castes.

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(ii) “Tribal Sub-Plan” (TsP) means the Plan to channelize not less than the STs population-equivalent proportion, respectively of the country and of each State and Union Territory, of the total Annual Plan, Five-Year Plan and Perspective Plan outlay of the Union and of each State and Union Terri-tory by setting it apart as the outlay of TsP before the total Plan outlay is allocated sector-wise and Ministry-wise/Department-wise in order to fulfi l the over-arching goals or developmental objec-tives of STs development, namely, their economic liberation, educational parity at all levels, equal-ity with Socially Advanced Castes (SACs) in all parameters of development and welfare, and secu-rity and social dignity, as well as the preservation of tribal culture, tribal identity, traditional tribal autonomy, restoration to Scheduled Tribes of originally tribal lands now in the possession or oc-cupation of non-tribals, and restoration and protection of traditional access to common resources and natural resources in tribal areas and to bridge the gaps in development between the Scheduled Tribes and Socially Advanced Castes with special attention to Particularly vulnerable Tribal Groups (PTGs).

c. (i) “National Scheduled Castes Development Authority (NSCDA)” means the Authority, set up under this Act, responsible for formulating and approving the Central SCP on the basis of the develop-mental needs and priorities of Scheduled Castes, in keeping with the aforementioned over-arching goals of Scheduled Castes development, and its monitoring, evaluation, review, revision and taking of timely corrective steps wherever and whenever required.

(ii) “State Scheduled Castes Development Authority (SSCDA)” means the Authority set up under this Act in each State responsible for formulating and approving the SCP of the State on the basis of the developmental needs and priorities of Scheduled Castes, in keeping with the aforementioned over-arching goals of Scheduled Castes development, and its monitoring, evaluation, review, revision and taking of timely corrective and progressive steps wherever and whenever required.

(iii) “District Scheduled Castes Development Authority (DSCDA)” shall mean the Authority set up under this Act in each district responsible for the implementation of the Act, working in a trans-parent and socially-auditable manner for implementation of schemes and programmes of the SCP as per the sanctions issued by the NSCDA and the SSCDA, and for their monitoring, feedback to the SSCDA of the State and the NSCDA and provision of inputs to the SSCDA and NSCDA for planning of the SCP for subsequent year(s).

d. (i) “National Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (NSTDA)” means the Authority set up under this Act responsible for formulating and approving the Central TsP on the basis of the develop-mental needs and priorities of Scheduled Tribes, in keeping with the aforementioned over-arching goals of Scheduled Tribes development, and its monitoring, evaluation, review, revision and taking of timely corrective and progressive steps wherever and whenever required.

(ii) “State Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (SSTDA)” means the Authority set up under this Act in each State and Union Territory responsible for formulating and approving the TsP of the State/Union Territory on the basis of the developmental needs and priorities of Scheduled Tribes, in keeping with the aforementioned over-arching goals of Scheduled Tribes development, and its monitoring, evaluation, review, revision and taking of timely corrective and progressive steps wher-ever and whenever required.

(iii) “District Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (DSTDA)” shall mean the Authority set up under this Act in each district responsible for the implementation of the Act, working in a transpar-ent and socially-auditable manner for the implementation of schemes and programmes of the TsP as per the sanctions issued by the NSTDA and the SSTDA, and for their monitoring, feedback to the SSTDA of the State and the NSTDA and provision of inputs to the SSTDA and NSTDA for planning of the TsP for subsequent year(s).

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e. “Deputy Chairperson” means the Deputy Chairperson of the National Scheduled Castes Development Authority and the Deputy Chairperson of the National Scheduled Tribes Development Authority, and, as the case may be, of the State Scheduled Castes Development Authority and the State Scheduled Tribes Development Authority defi ned in section 4 and section 5, who shall be the executive head of the NSCDA/SSCDA and of the NSTDA/SSTDA and shall be responsible for the actual functioning and activities and the day-to-day work of the NSCDA/SSCDA and of the NSTDA/SSTDA.

f. “Census” means decennial population census conducted by the Government of India every ten years

g. “Crucial Balancing Investment” means the percentage of funds earmarked by the National Scheduled Castes Development Authority and by the National Scheduled Tribes Development Authority or, as the case may be, by the State Scheduled Castes Development Authority and the State Scheduled Tribes Development Authority of any State or Union Territory as defi ned in Section 3 (6) of the Act.

h. “Government” means the Government of India or a State Government or Government of a Union Ter-ritory with Legislature.

i. “Notifi cation” means Notifi cation published in the Gazette of India or State or Union Territory

j. “Plan Budget” means the total Plan Outlay in the Budget of the Government of India or, as the case may be, of each State or each Union Territory for a given Financial Year.

k. “Prescribed” means prescribed in the Rules.

l. “Rules” means Rules made under section 12 of the Act.

m. “Scheduled Castes” and “Scheduled Tribes” have the meaning as defi ned in Articles 366(24) and 366(25) respectively of the Constitution of India and notifi ed by the President of India under Articles 341(1) and 342(1) respectively, and as amended by Parliament by Articles 341(2) and 342(2) respectively.

n. “Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989” means Central Act No. 33 of 1989.

o. “Panchayats” and “Municipalities” shall have the same meaning as in Articles 243, 243B and in Articles 243 P and 243Q of the Constitution.

p. “Scheduled Castes habitations” and Scheduled Tribes habitations” shall mean habitations, within a panchayat or a municipality, of which all residents belong to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, Scheduled Tribes, and, in the rare cases of habitations of diff erent castes or Tribes in municipalities, shall mean habitations of which not less than 75% of the residents belong to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, to the Scheduled Tribes.

q. “Scheduled Castes Institutions” and “Scheduled Tribes institutions” shall mean institutions of which all or not less than 75% direct benefi ciaries belong to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, to the Scheduled Tribes.

r. “Socially Advanced Castes” (SACs) means the castes other than those belonging to the social classes mentioned in Clause (4) of Article 15 of the Constitution.

s. “Infrastructure substantially and mainly benefi tting Scheduled Tribes” shall mean infrastructure of which not less than 75% of the direct benefi ciaries belong to the Scheduled Tribes.

t. “Infrastructure substantially and mainly benefi tting Scheduled Castes” shall mean infrastructure of which not less than 75% of the direct benefi ciaries belong to the Scheduled Castes.

u. “Appropriation” shall mean the amount authorized by the Parliament or Legislative Assembly, as the case may be, for expenditure under diff erent primary units of appropriation or part thereof placed at the disposal of a disbursing offi cer.

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v. “Reappropriation” shall mean the transfer, by a competent authority, of savings from one unit of ap-propriation to meet additional expenditure under another unit within the same grant or charged ap-propriation.

w. “Budget” shall mean the statement of estimated receipts and expenditure of the Central Government or, as the case may be, a state government as per its policy for each fi nancial year and placed before the Parliament, or as the case may be, the State Legislature.

x. “Outcome Budget” shall mean the document prepared and presented annually to the Parliament or a the case may be , as State legislature, refl ecting the purposes and objectives for which funds were provisioned, the cost of various programmes and activities proposed for achieving these objectives and quantitative projection of the work performed and services rendered under each programme and activ-ity.

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Chapter - II:

SPECIAL COMPONENT PLAN FOR SCHEDULED CASTES (SCP) AND

TRIBAL SUB-PLAN (TSP) FOR SCHEDULED TRIBES

Section 3 ANNUAL AND FIVE-YEAR AND PERSPECTIVE SPECIAL COMPONENT PLANS FOR SCHED-ULED CASTES AND TRIBAL SUB-PLANS FOR SCHEDULED TRIBES, FORMULATION, AL-LOCATION OF FUNDS AND VOTING;

1. Annual, Five-Year and Perspective Plans for SCP and TsP

Th ere shall be Special Annual, Five-Year and Perspective Plans, hereinafter called the Special Compo-nent Plans for Scheduled Castes (SCP) and the Tribal sub-Plans (TsP) for Scheduled Tribes, separate from and in addition to the general Annual Plan and Five-Year Plan, of the Centre and of each State, for the accelerated overall development respectively of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in order to fulfi ll the over-arching goals or developmental objectives of their economic liberation, educational parity at all levels, equality with Socially Advanced Castes in all parameters and security and social dig-nity of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, as well as the preservation of tribal culture, tribal identity, traditional tribal autonomy, restoration to Scheduled Tribes of originally tribal lands now in the possession or occupation of non-Tribals, and restoration and protection of traditional access to common resources and natural resources in tribal areas and to bridge the gaps in development between Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, on the one hand, and Socially Advanced Castes, on the other, in a reasonable time with particular attention to the Specially Vulnerable Groups (SVGs) among Sched-uled Castes and Particularly vulnerable Tribal Groups (PTGs).

2. Set Apart Allocations of SCP and TsP in the Plan Outlays

(a) From the over-all approved Annual and Five Year Plan Outlays of the Centre or, as the case may be, of each State and Union Territory, before the total Plan Outlay is allocated sector-wise, and ministry-wise/department-wise, the outlays for the Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes and the outlays for the Tribal sub-Plan shall be set apart, respectively in the ratio of not less than the population-proportion of the Scheduled Castes and of the Scheduled Tribes to the total popula-tion of the country or, as the case may be, of each State/Union Territory, as per the latest decennial census and the same shall be entrusted respectively to the NSCDA and NSTDA or, as the case may

18

be, respectively to the SSCDA and SSTDA for the formulation and implementation of the Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes and the Tribal sub-Plan.

(b) Th e Five Year, Annual and Perspective SCP outlay and the Five Year, Annual and Perspective TsP outlays of the Centre and States shall be determined, by the Central Government or, as the case may be, State Governments, as prescribed in clause (a) of this sub-section above and shall be in-formed to the NSCDA and NSTDA respectively and to SSCDAs and SSTDAs respectively at least six months prior to the commencement of the respective Plans to enable them to start the process of planning at the earliest.

(c) Any measures of economy resulting in the reduction in the Plan size of the Centre or of any State shall not be applied by the Government of India or, as the case may be, any State Government, to the SCP and the TsP

3. Planning, Formulation, Approval Process made available in the Public domain

Th e formulation and approval of the Annual, Five Year and Perspective SCP and TsP and the planning of and allocations for programmes and schemes relevant to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and issue of sanction of funds shall be undertaken respectively within this SCP outlay and the TsP outlay by the NSCDA, NSTDA, SSCDAs and SSTDAs and be made available in the public domain.

4. Guidelines for Proposals for Schemes

Th e NSCDA and the NSTDA or, as the case may be, SSCDA and the SSTDA of each State, shall ob-tain proposals for the schemes and programmes, as far as possible in project form, respectively for the SCP and the TsP, from the Ministries or Departments of the Government of India or, as the case may be, of the Governments of the State, and scrutinize such proposals in accordance with the following criteria and guidelines:

a. Only such schemes and programmes shall be included in and funded from the SCP which directly and exclusively benefi t Scheduled Caste individuals, Scheduled Caste families, Scheduled Caste habitations, and Scheduled Caste institutions, and those which provide development of infrastruc-ture in the Scheduled Caste habitations wholly, or substantially and mainly, benefi tting Scheduled Castes, and which fulfi ll the overarching goals of Scheduled Castes development as per clause (b)(i) Section 2, with particular attention to Specially Vulnerable Groups (SVGs) among Scheduled Castes.

b. Only such schemes and programmes shall be included in and funded from the TsP which directly and exclusively benefi t Scheduled Tribe individuals, Scheduled Tribe families, Scheduled Tribe hab-itations and Scheduled Tribe institutions, and those which provide development of infrastructure in tribal areas wholly, or substantially and mainly, benefi tting Scheduled Tribes, and which fulfi ll the overarching goals of Scheduled Tribes development mentioned in clause (b)(ii) of Section 2, with special attention to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PTGs).

Explanations:

i. “Scheduled Caste habitations” and “Scheduled Tribe habitations” shall mean habitations, within a panchayat or a Municipality, of which all residents belong to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes as the case may be, and, in the rare cases of habitations of diff erent castes or Tribes in a Municipality, shall mean habitations of which not less than 75% of the residents belong to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, Scheduled Tribes.

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ii. “Scheduled Castes institutions” and “Scheduled Tribes institutions” shall mean institutions of which all or not less than 75% direct benefi ciaries belong to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.

iii. “Infrastructure substantially and mainly benefi tting Scheduled Tribes” shall mean infrastructure of which not less than 75% of the direct benefi ciaries belong to the Scheduled Tribes.

iv. “Infrastructure substantially and mainly benefi tting Scheduled Castes” shall mean infrastructure of which not less than 75% of the direct benefi ciaries belong to the Scheduled Caste.

c. (i) Th e planning, allocation, and utilization of schemes and programmes shall have a special focus on gender equality and empowerment of women, children, youth, persons with disability and other vulnerable social identities (senior citizens, etc) and Specially Vulnerable Groups (SVGs) among Scheduled Castes and Particularly vulnerable Tribal Groups (PTGs) among Scheduled Tribes in order to close development and welfare gaps between and among such vulnerable groups within Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, while closing the developmental and welfare gaps between the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, on the one hand, and the Socially Advanced Castes, on the other.

(ii) In planning and in allocation of funds by the NSCDA/SSCDA and by the NSTDA/SSTDA due care and attention shall be paid for achieving equity among SCs and STs in diff erent States, and regions and diff erent parts of each State.

d. No part of the cost of infrastructural schemes open to all social classes will be attributed to and com-puted under the SCP or the TsP by assuming that a certain proportion of users of such infrastructure are, or are likely to be, Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. Th e criterion for infrastructural schemes mentioned in clauses (a) and (b) above and in “Explanations” thereunder shall be strictly followed.

e. (i) No part of the cost of any institution, open to social classes other than Scheduled Castes and Sched-uled Tribes, shall be attributed to or computed under the SCP or the TsP

(ii) No part of the costs of any institution which has been set up or may be set up in future for overall supervision and monitoring in diff erent fi elds, including Constitutional and statutory bodies, both at the national and State levels, whether for SCs or STs or for various social classes which include SCs and STs, such as the National Commission for Women, National Commission for Protection of Children, National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, and National Commission for Safai Karmacharis, shall be attributed to or accounted towards SCP or TsP of the Centre or of any State.

f. Th e NSCDA and SSCDA, and NSTDAs and SSTDAs, at the national or the state level, as the case may be, shall hold pre-budget consultations/discussions with the representatives of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe agricultural labourers, farmers, artisans, workers in rural and urban unorganized sec-tor, Safai Karmacharis, NGOs working with women, children, and persons with disabilities belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and other occupational groups and categories, such as entre-preneurs and industrialists, academicians, social activists, Scheduled Tribes non-timber forest produce collectors etc to gather proposals on relevant, innovative and useful schemes and programmes.

5. Sanction orders and Memorandums of Understanding by the Authorities

Th e Ministries/Departments and other Agencies to which sanctions are issued shall be accountable to the NSCDA/NSTDA or SSCDAs/SSTDAs, as the case may be, at the national or states level, as laid down in the sanction orders, for the proper implementation of the schemes and outlays sanctioned to them and for the achievement of the results laid down in the MOUs, and shall furnish reports and information in the manner and with such frequency as prescribed by the NSCDA/NSTDA or SSDAs/SSTDAs.

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6. Crucial balancing Investment

Th e NSCDA and NSTDA or, as the case may be, the SSCDA and SSTDA of each State or Union ter-ritory may at their discretion earmark a minimum of fi ve percent of funds respectively of the total SCP and the TsP of the Centre or, as the case may be, of the State for “Crucial Balancing Investment” for completion of any scheme to maximize and accelerate the benefi t respectively for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe communities.

7. Scrutiny and Approval of the Proposals for SCP and TSP

After duly considering the proposals from the district Development Authorities, which shall be formu-lated by processes including particularly consultation with SCs and STs Communities in the manner mentioned in 4.C.3.b), Ministries or Departments of Government of India or as the case may be, of the State Government, as per the allocations made, the NSCDA and the NSTDA, or as the case may be SSCDA and SSTDA, and after scrutinizing them and making modifi cations where required in ac-cordance with the criteria mentioned in sub-section (4) of this Section, shall respectively approve the SCP and TsP.

8. Explicitly Indicate How the Proposed Schemes will meet Goals of SCP and TsP

Ministries and Departments and other Agencies of the Centre and States, while formulating and fur-nishing their proposals, of schemes and programmes to the NSCDA / NSTDA or SSCDA/SSTDA shall keep in view and be bound by the criteria enumerated in sub-sections (4) of this section, shall bring out the gaps in the parameters of development and welfare in their respective sectors/fi elds, be-tween the SCs or the STs as the case may be, on the one hand, and the SACs, on the other, and clearly indicate how the schemes and programmes proposed by them will bridge and eliminate these gaps in a reasonable time.

9. Reallocation and Re-appropriation measures

If the NSCDA/NSTDA or the SSCDA/SSTDA fi nds that the proposals of schemes and programmes furnished by any Ministry/Department, are not in accordance with the criteria enumerated in sub-section (4) of this section the NSCDA/NSTDA or the SSCDA/SSTDA

a. shall recommend to the concerned Ministry/Department to either suitably modify their proposals or recommend to it such other schemes and programmes as the NSCDA/NSTDA or the SSCDA/SSTDA considers appropriate in keeping with the criteria mentioned in sub-section (4) of this sec-tion or,

b. shall reallocate and re-appropriate funds from one scheme to another scheme and one ministry/department to another ministry/department in keeping with above mentioned criteria; and

c. such recommendations, reallocations and re-appropriations of the NSCDA/NSTDA or the SS-CDA/SSTDA shall be binding on such Ministry/Department.

10. Basket of priority Schemes

Th e NSCDA and NSTDA, the SSCDAs and SSTDAs, and the Ministries/Departments and other Agencies of the Centre and States shall, in particular give high priority to the following schemes:

a. Providing agricultural land of a viable extent to all rural landless SC families including families with unviable extents of land;

b. Restoration to Schedule Tribes of originally Tribal lands now in the possession or occupation of others and restoration and protection of traditional access to common resources and natural re-sources in tribal areas;

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c. Irrigation, particularly group irrigation, for all lands of SCs and STs;

d. Residential schools of high quality to ultimately cover all SC boys and girls and all ST boys and girls up to Class XII;

e. Coaching schemes of high quality in the last years in school to equip the SC boys and girls and ST boys and girls to compete for selections to professional and other higher educational institutions

f. Scholarships to all SC and ST boys and girls studying professional education – like engineering, nursing, medical, Business administration, management studies etc

g. Schemes to promote higher education;

h. provision of house-sites and adequate houses with all facilities for all SC and ST families;

i. Provision of civic amenities and facilities necessary for SC and ST habitations, potable drinking water facilities, adequate housing, sanitation facilities; community hall with 24 x 7 electricity and computers to be used as study centres for SC and ST children and for other common developmen-tal and welfare activities, internal roads, electricity, telephonic and digital links, postal and telegraph links,

j. Provision of all necessary connectivities for SCs and STs habitation.

k. Provision of ration shops, private shops, and other facilities

l. Health care facilities for all kinds of minor and major ailments; Schemes for reduction of neo-natal mortality, infant mortality, child mortality, maternal mortality, malnutrition, anaemia among SCs and STs, especially SC and ST children and women, and bringing them to the level of Socially Advanced Castes (SACs)

m. Care, education and economic settlement of SC and ST persons with disabilities

n. Pension facilities (old age, women whose husbands are dead, single women etc.)

o. Total liberation, comprehensive and sustainable rehabilitation of bonded labourers and prevention of relapse of bonded labourers and prevention of fresh recruitment of bonded labourers.

p. Total liberation and comprehensive rehabilitation of manual scavengers

q. Measures for preventing fresh recruitment of manual scavengers and humanisation of other sanita-tion services such as introduction of modern machinery to clear sewages without human beings having to get into man-holes.

r. Schemes for total liberation and comprehensive and sustainable rehabilitation of women subjected to traditional practices of sexual exploitation like Devadasi, Jogin, Basavi etc. of

s. Special schemes tailored to the needs of nomadic , semi-nomadic and vimukta jatis of SCs and STs

t. Schemes for skill development, entrepreneurship development, fulfi lment of reservations and equipping SCs and STs to compete successfully for open competition jobs and posts

u. Schemes for preservation of tribal culture and tribal autonomy;

v. Schemes for fulfi llment of tribal rights under the Scheduled Tribes and rights of other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA)

w. Schemes for full operationalisation of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA);

x. Schemes for the proper implementation of the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution

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y. Schemes for promoting and supporting NGOs from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe com-munities to facilitate the SC and ST communities to access and monitor their rights and entitle-ments in the Act.

z. Schemes that will benefi t SCs and STs directly and are related to Developing Human Resource Ca-pacities for Providing Professional Services: data processing, computing and software development, trade and market development

aa. Schemes that will benefi t SCs and STs directly and are related to Acquiring, Developing, Innovat-ing and Producing Knowledge: doctoral and post-doctoral research within and outside the country, doing primary research projects in science and technology, attending conferences abroad, setting up private research institutes, fellowships for research projects and publications, etc.

ab. Schemes that will benefi t SCs and STs directly and are related to Acquiring, Owning and Building up Material Assets: owning agricultural land, irrigation facilities, land for housing and cemetery/cremation, private land for conducting commerce and business, private land for starting public educational institutions in arts, science and technology; public land for common use in SCs resi-dential areas/hamlets; common property resources for grazing cattle and collecting fi rewood, etc.

ac. Schemes that will benefi t SCs and STs and are related to Developing Commerce, Trade, Busi-ness through Entrepreneurship Enterprises: Special loans with concessional interests for contractual business, for agricultural development, for self-employment commercial projects, for contractual projects, for commercial fi lm production, etc.

ad. Schemes that will benefi t SCs and STs directly and are related to Managerial Skills Development: for skills development in managing human and material resources in institutions, etc.

ae. Schemes that will benefi t SCs and STs directly and are related to Political Empowerment for ac-quiring skills to utilize their franchise to collectively promote their basic and important interest; for acquiring skills for contesting elections, for training in political knowledge, for capacitating in political governance skills and for creating capacity to resist and repel improper infl uence of domi-nant classes of individuals in the exercise of their franchise.

11. Major Budget Head for SCP and TsP

Th ere shall be separate major Budget heads for the SCP and TsP in the Central and State budgets

12. SCP and TsP Voted by Parliament/Legislature

Th e Government of India or, as the case may be, the Government of the State or Union Territory shall present the Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes and the Tribal sub-Plan for voting by Parlia-ment or State Legislatures along with the general Annual Budget.

13. Annual Social Audit for SCP and TSP Schemes

Th e NSCDA/NSTDA and the SSCDAs/SSTDAs shall prepare an annual social audit report on the impact assessment of the SCP and TsP schemes. Th e report shall be made available in the public do-main.

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Chapter – III

CONSTITUTION, FUNCTIONS, DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES

AND POWERS OF SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES

DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES

Section 4 ANATIONAL SCHEDULED CASTES DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

4 A. 1 Constitution of the National Scheduled Castes Development Authority

Th e Government of India shall constitute a National Scheduled Castes Development Authority for discharging the functions and duties prescribed for and for exercising the powers conferred on such Authorities in relation to planning of Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes of the Centre in accordance with the criteria laid down in sub-section (4) of section 3 of this Act and allocation and utilisation of fi nancial resources under this Act.

4 A. 2 Functions, Duties, Responsibilities and Powers of National Scheduled Castes Development Au-thority

a. Th e NSCDA shall be responsible for formulating and approving Central SCP Plans, namely (An-nual, Five-Year and Perspective) as per the criteria under sub-section (4) of Section 3. Th is includes the authority to decide which schemes and programmes, whether existing or new, can be included in the SCP and which cannot be included.

b. Th e NSCDA shall also be responsible for similar functions as mentioned above in respect of Union territories which are directly administered by the Central Government.

c. Th ere shall be compact units in NSCDA with specialization in each area of development relevant to Scheduled Castes, both in terms of sectors as well as categories like women, children, persons with disabilities, manual scavengers and other Specially Vulnerable Groups among Scheduled Castes

d. Th e NSCDA shall, taking into account the pre-Budget discussion criteria set forth in clause 4(f ) of section 3, after consultations with appropriate implementing Ministries/ Departments/ agen-cies, formulate the SCP of the Centre and allocations to each of the Ministries/Departments/other Agencies.

e. Th ereafter the NSCDA shall issue ‘sanctions’ in favor of each appropriate Ministry/Department/Agency on the basis of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) detailing the specifi cities of each

24

scheme and programme to be implemented in a manner which is transparent and locally verifi able and social-auditable, with provisions for concurrent monitoring, evaluation and timely corrections and improvement.

f. Th e Authority shall have the power to give necessary directions to the implementing Ministry /Department/ Agency and to re-allocate or re-appropriate outlays from one Ministry /Department/ Agency to another whenever necessary, to advance the interests and goals of Scheduled Castes de-velopment.

g. Th e NSCDA may organize periodical conferences of SSCDAs and take other measures for facilitat-ing exchange of experiences and for formulation of common strategies wherever appropriate.

h. Th e NSCDA shall maintain a comprehensive and disaggregated data-base as required for planning and implementation of SCP.

4 A. 3 Selection Committee for the National Scheduled Castes Development Authority (NSCDA)

a. Th e members of the NSCDA shall be selected by a Selection Committee consisting of the following members:

(i) Ex-offi cio membersa. Prime Minister - Chairpersonb. Minister-in-charge of Scheduled Castes Development/Welfare/ Empowermentc. Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabhad. Chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)e. Chairperson National Safai Karmachari Commission

(ii) Six Nominated Members from the following categories:a. Th ose having experience of and expertise in higher administration including planning, fi nance

and public policyb. Distinguished Educationists and academiciansc. Economists with expertise in developmental/ welfare/ rural economics, and other areas rel-

evant to Scheduled Castes.d. Social scientists with expertise in areas relevant to Scheduled Castes and any other profession-

als in areas relevant to Scheduled Castese. Successful entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Castesf. Two eminent social activists working for Scheduled Castes or representatives of reputed NGOs

working for Scheduled Castes.

b. It shall be ensured that a majority of the Selection Committee members are from the Scheduled Castes.

c. Two out of six nominated members shall be women, at least one of whom shall be from a Scheduled Caste community.

d. Nominated Members shall be appointed from among persons who have a proven track record of active concern for the rights and welfare of Scheduled Castes and are not primary members of or persons associated with or working for a political party.

4 A. 4 Composition of the National Scheduled Castes Development Authority (NSCDA)

a. Th e composition of the NSCDA & eligibility/ qualifi cations of the full-time members of the NSC-DA shall be as below:

Ex-offi cio Membersi. Chairperson – Prime Ministerii. Vice-Chairperson – Minister in charge of Scheduled Castes Development/Welfare/ Empowerment.

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Full-time Membersiii. Dy. Chairpersoniv. Seven other Members selected by the Selection Committee from the categories set forth below:

b. Th e full-time Dy. Chairperson and other members shall be selected from the following categories:i. Th ose having experience of and expertise in higher administration including planning, fi nance

and public policy.ii. Distinguished Educationists and academiciansiii. Economists with expertise in developmental/ welfare/ rural economics, and other areas relevant

to Scheduled Castes iv. Successful entrepreneurs belonging to scheduled castesv. Social scientists with expertise in areas relevant to Scheduled Castes and any other professionals

in areas relevant to Scheduled Castesvi. Eminent social activists working for Scheduled Castes or representatives of reputed NGOs

working for Scheduled Castes.

c. Th e full-time Dy. Chairperson shall be from Scheduled Caste. Th e Deputy Chairperson and other members shall be selected from among persons with experience of at least 10 years of distinguished work for Scheduled Castes in their respective fi elds and possessing a proven track record of active concern for the rights and welfare of Scheduled Castes.

d. It shall be ensured that a majority of members of NSCDA are from the Scheduled Castes.

e. Two out of the total members shall be women, of whom at least one shall be from a Scheduled Caste community.

f. Nominated members shall be appointed from among persons who are not primary members of or persons associated with or working for a political party.

g. Th e Deputy Chairperson and other full-time Members of the Authority shall not, for a period of two years after they cease to be Deputy Chairperson or full-time Members, contest elections for any elective post, shall not accept any nominated post in any elective body and shall not accept any post under the Government of India or of a State or Union Territory including the offi ce of the President or the Vice President of the Union of India or the offi ce of a Governor of a State or a Lt. Governor of a Union Territory.

h. Th e Deputy Chairperson shall be the executive head of the NSCDA and shall be responsible for the actual functioning, activities and day-to-day work of the NSCDA.

i. Th e Deputy Chairperson of the NSCDA shall have the status of a Union Cabinet Minister and shall be a permanent invitee to all Cabinet Meetings of the Central Govt.

j. Other full-time Members of the NSCDA shall have the status of a Central Minister of State.

k. Th e Prime Minister as Chairperson will preside over crucial meetings of the NSCDA and the Deputy Chairperson shall preside over all other meetings.

l. Th e Minister-in-charge of Scheduled Castes Development/Welfare/ Empowerment as Vice-Chair-person, who will also attend crucial meetings of the NSCDA, shall help to maintain the link between the NSCDA and the Ministry as the limb of the executive government which formulates broad policy, secures budgetary support, and moves important legislations through the Cabinet and Parliament and interfaces with the Parliament.

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Section 4 BSTATE SCHEDULED CASTES DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

4 B. 1 Constitution of the State Scheduled Castes Development Authority

Each State Government shall constitute a State Scheduled Castes Development Authority for discharg-ing the functions and duties prescribed for, and for exercising powers conferred on, such Authorities in relation to planning of Special Component Plan for Schedules Castes (SCP) of the State in accordance with the criteria laid down in sub-section (4) of section 3 of this Act and allocation and utilisation of fi nancial resources under this Act.

4 B. 2 Functions, Duties, Responsibilities and Powers of State Scheduled Castes Development Authority

a. Th e SSCDA shall be responsible for formulating and approving State SCP (Annual, Five-Year and Perspective) and sanction of funds for schemes and programmes thereunder as per the criteria under sub-section (4) of Section 3. Th is includes the authority to decide which schemes and programmes, whether existing or new, can be included in the SCP and which cannot be included.

b. Th ere shall be compact units in each SSCDA, with specialization in each area of development rel-evant to Scheduled Castes, both in terms of sectors as well as categories like women, children, per-sons with disabilities, manual scavengers and other Specially Vulnerable Groups among Scheduled Castes (SVGs).

c. Th e SSCDA shall in accordance with pre-Budget discussion criteria set forth in clause 4(f ) of sec-tion 3, after consultations with appropriate implementing Ministries/ Departments/ agencies, for-mulate the SCP of the State and allocations to each Department/other agency.

d. Th ereafter the SSCDA shall issue ‘sanctions’ in favor of each appropriate Ministry/Department/Agency on the basis of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) detailing the specifi cities of each scheme and programme to be implemented in a manner which is transparent and locally verifi able and social-auditable, with provisions for concurrent monitoring, evaluation and timely corrections and improvement.

e. Th e Authority shall have the power to give necessary directions to the implementing Department/Agency and to reallocate or re-appropriate outlays from one Department/Agency to another when-ever necessary to advance the interests and goals of Scheduled Castes development.

f. Th e SSCDA shall organize periodical conferences of DSCDAs and take other measures for facilitat-ing exchange of experiences and formulation of common strategies wherever appropriate.

g. Th e SSCDA shall maintain a comprehensive and disaggregated data-base as required for planning and implementation of SCP.

4 B. 3 Selection Committee of the State Scheduled Castes Development Authority (SSCDA)

a. Th e members of the SSCDA shall be selected by a Selection Committee consisting of the following members:

(i) Ex-offi cio membersa. Chief Minister - Chairpersonb. Minister-in-charge of Scheduled Castes Development/Welfare/ Empowermentc. Leaders of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly/Legislative Councild. Chairperson, State Commission for Scheduled Castes (SCSC)

27

(ii) Six Nominated Members from the following categories:a. Th ose having experience of and expertise in higher administration including planning, fi nance

and public policy. b. Distinguished Educationists and academicians,c. Economists with expertise in developmental/welfare/rural economics, and other areas relevant

to Scheduled Castes.d. Social scientists with expertise in areas relevant to Scheduled Castes and any other profession-

als in areas relevant to Scheduled Castese. Successful entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Castesf. Two eminent social activists working for Scheduled Castes or representatives of reputed NGOs

working for Scheduled Castes.

b. It shall be ensured that a majority of the Selection Committee members are from the Scheduled Castes

c. Two out of six nominated members shall be women, at least one of whom shall be from a Scheduled Caste community

d. Nominated Members shall be appointed from among persons who have a proven track record of active concern for the rights and welfare of Scheduled Castes and are not primary members of or persons associated with or working for a political party.

4 B. 4 Composition of the State Scheduled Castes Development Authority (SSCDA)

a. Th e composition of the SSCDA & eligibility/ qualifi cations of the full-time members of the SS-CDA shall be as below:

Ex-offi cio Membersi. Chairperson – Chief Ministerii. Vice-Chairperson – Minister in charge of Scheduled Castes Development/Welfare/ Empower-

ment.

Full-time Membersiii. Dy. Chairpersoniv. Seven other Members selected by the Selection Committee from the following categories listed

below:

b. Th e full-time Dy. Chairperson and other members shall be selected from the following categories:1. Th ose having experience of and expertise in higher administration including planning, fi nance

and public policy2. Distinguished Educationists and academicians.3. Economists with expertise in developmental/ welfare/ rural economics, and other areas rel-

evant to Scheduled Castes.4. Successful entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Castes5. Social scientists with expertise in areas relevant to Scheduled Castes and any other profession-

als in areas relevant to Scheduled Castes6. Eminent social activists working for Scheduled Castes or representatives of reputed NGOs

working for Scheduled Castes.

c. Th e full-time Dy. Chairperson shall be from Scheduled Caste. Th e Deputy Chairperson and the other members shall be selected from persons with experience of at least 10 years of distinguished work for Scheduled Castes in their respective fi elds and possessing a proven track record of active concern for the rights and welfare of Scheduled Castes.

d. It shall be ensured that a majority of members of SSCDA are from the Scheduled Castes

28

e. Two out of the total members shall be women, of whom at least one shall be from a Scheduled Caste community

f. Th e Full-time members shall be appointed from among persons who are not primary members of or persons associated with or working for a political party.

g. Th e Deputy Chairperson and other full-time Members of the Authority shall not, for a period of two years after they cease to be Deputy Chairperson or full-time Members, contest elections for any elective post, shall not accept any nominated post in any elective body and shall not accept any post under the Government of India or under the Government of any State or Union Territory including the posts of the offi ce of President or Vice President of the Union of India or the offi ce of a Governor of a State or a Lt. Governor of a Union Territory.

h. Th e Chief Minister as Chairperson will preside over crucial meetings of the SSCDA and the Deputy Chairperson shall preside over all other meetings.

i. Th e Deputy Chairperson shall be the executive head of the SSCDA and shall be responsible for the actual functioning, activities and day-to-day work of the SSCDA

j. Th e Deputy Chairperson of the SSCDA shall have the status of a State Cabinet Minister and shall be a permanent invitee to all meetings of the State Cabinet.

k. Other full-time members of the SSCDA shall have the status of a Minister of State of the State Government.

l. Th e Minister-in-charge of Scheduled Castes Development/Welfare/Empowerment as Vice-Chair-person will help to maintain the link between the SSCDA and the Ministry as the limb of the executive government which formulates broad policy, secures budgetary support, and moves impor-tant legislations through the Cabinet and Legislative Assembly and interfaces with the Legislative Assembly

Section 4 CDISTRICT SCHEDULED CASTES DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

4 C. 1 Constitution of the District Scheduled Castes Development Authority

Each State Government shall constitute for a District Scheduled Castes Development Authority in each district of the State, except in districts where there are no Scheduled Castes, for discharging the func-tions and duties prescribed for and for exercising the powers conferred on such Authorities in relation to planning of Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes in accordance with the criteria laid down in sub-section (4) of section 3 of this Act and allocation and utilisation of fi nancial resources under this Act.

4 C. 2 Duties and Responsibilities of District Scheduled Castes Development Authorities

a. Th e role and duty of the District SC Development authorities is to function as a crucial mechanism for actively associating the SCs at the grassroots with the process of planning and implementation of the SCP and making this in essence a SC peoples Plan, by inter alia taking the measures

b. To obtain proposals for schemes for the planned development of SCs from the bodies of SC Presi-dents and Members of Panchayats and Municipalities as defi ned in Article 243 r/w 243B and 243P r/w 243Q in the Constitution, and from other sources concerned with SC development in keeping with the criteria mentioned in the sub-section (4) of Section 3 of this Act.

c. To prepare a district SCP on that basis and furnish it as an input for the NSCDA and SSCDA for the formulation of Central SCP and State SCP.

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d. To provide any other inputs from time to time to the NSCDA and SSCDA for formulation of Central SCP and State SCP.

e. To closely supervise and ensure proper implementation of the SCPs in the district by appropriate departments, in accordance with the results and outcomes to be achieved as per sanction orders issued by the NSCDA/SSCDAs to Central Ministries/ Departments/ Agencies and State Depart-ments and Agencies, and the MOUs between them.

f. To ensure transparency in implementation in a manner which can be locally verifi ed and social-audited scheme-wise and in this process actively involve SC presidents and members of Panchayats and Municipalities and NGOs and activists working for SCs?

g. To devise all other possible innovative measures to associate the masses of Scheduled Castes with the process of planning and implementation of the SCP and make this an eff ective and powerful peoples movement in addition to being a systematic governance and administrative exercise.

h. to report to the NSCDA / SSCDA, as prescribed, about implementation of Central and State SCP at district-level and send special reports wherever necessary if any urgent action or course-correction or re-allocation of outlays is required on the part of the NSCDA/ SSCDA.

4 C. 3 Composition of the District Scheduled Castes Development Authority (DSCDA)

1. Th e District Collector/Deputy Commissioner shall be the Chairperson of the DSCDA.

2. Th e State Government shall appoint a full-time Additional Collector or Joint Collector/Additional or Joint Dy. Commissioner in the senior scale of the IAS exclusively to assist the Collector/Dy. Commissioner in the implementation and monitoring of the SCP at district level and to whom no other work shall be entrusted under any circumstances.

3. Other members of the DSCDA shall be drawn from:

a. District heads of relevant Departments in the District

b. Representatives of NGOs with reputation for sincere work for Scheduled Castes of whom 50% women shall be women, to be nominated by District Collector / Deputy Commissioner.

c. Subject-matter experts with reputation for, commitment to and experience of development and empowerment of Scheduled Castes whom 50% women shall be women to be nominated by District Collector / Deputy Commissioner.

4. Th e Non-offi cial Members of the District Authority shall not, for a period of three years after they cease to be Members of the District Authority, contest elections for any elective post and shall not accept any nominated post in any elective body and shall not accept any post under the Govern-ment of India or under the Government of any State or Union Territory.

Section 5 ANATIONAL SCHEDULED TRIBES DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

5 A. 1 Constitution of the National Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (NSTDA)

Th e Government of India shall constitute a National Scheduled Tribes Development Authority for discharging the functions and duties prescribed for and for exercising the powers conferred on such Authorities in relation to planning of Tribal sub-Plan of the Centre, in accordance with the criteria laid down in sub-section (4) of section 3 of this Act and allocation and utilisation of fi nancial resources under this Act.

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5A.2 Functions, Duties, Responsibilities and Powers of National Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (NSTDA)

a. Th e NSTDA shall be responsible for formulating and approving Central TsP (Annual, Five-Year and Perspective) and sanctioning funds for schemes and programmes there under as per the criteria under (4) of Section 3 of this Act. Th is includes the authority to decide which schemes and pro-grammes, whether existing or new, can be included in the TsP and which cannot be included.

b. Th e NSTDA shall also be responsible for similar functions as mentioned above in respect of Union Territories which are directly administered by the Central Government.

c. Th ere shall be compact units in NSTDA with specialization in each area of development relevant to Scheduled Tribes, both in terms of sectors as well as categories like women, children, persons with disabilities and Particularly vulnerable Tribal Groups (PTGs).

d. Th e NSTDA shall, taking into account the pre-Budget discussion criteria set forth in clause 4(f ) of section 3 after consultations with appropriate implementing Ministries/ Departments/ agencies, formulate the TsP of the Centre and allocations to each of the Ministres/Departments/other agen-cies.

e. Th ereafter the NSTDA shall issue ‘sanctions’ in favor of each appropriate Ministry/Department/Agency on the basis of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) detailing the specifi cities of each scheme and programme to be implemented in a manner which is transparent and locally verifi able and social-auditable, with provisions for concurrent monitoring, evaluation and timely corrections and improvement.

f. Th e Authority shall have the power give necessary directions to the implementing Ministry /Department/ Agency and to re-allocate or re-appropriate outlays from one Ministry /Department/ Agency to another whenever necessary, to advance the interests and goals of Scheduled Tribes development.

g. Th e NSTDA may organize periodical conferences of SSTDAs and take other measures for facilitat-ing exchange of experiences and formulation of common strategies wherever appropriate.

h. Th e NSTDA shall maintain a detailed and disaggregated data-base as required for planning and implementation of TsP.

5 A. 3 Selection Committee of the National Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (NSTDA)

a. Th e members of the NSTDA shall be selected by a Selection Committee consisting of the following members:

(i) Ex-offi cio membersa. Prime Minister - Chairpersonb. Minister-in-charge of Scheduled Tribes Development/Welfare/ Empowermentc. Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabhad. Chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST)

(ii) Six Nominated Members from the following categories:a. Th ose having experience of and expertise in higher administration including planning, fi nance

and public policy.b. Distinguished Educationists and academicians,c. Economists with expertise in developmental/ welfare/ rural economics, and other areas relevant

to Scheduled Tribes.d. Social scientists with expertise in areas relevant to Scheduled Tribes and any other professionals

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in areas relevant to Scheduled Tribese. Successful entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Tribesf. Two eminent social activists working for Scheduled Tribes or representatives of reputed NGOs

working for Scheduled Tribes

b. It shall be ensured that a majority of the Selection Committee members are from the Scheduled Tribes

c. Two out of six nominated members shall be women at least one of whom shall be from a Scheduled Tribe.

d. Nominated Members shall be appointed from among persons who have a proven track record of active concern for the rights and welfare of Scheduled Tribes and are not primary members of or persons associated with or working for a political party.

5 A.4 Composition of the National Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (NSTDA)

a. Th e composition of the NSTDA & eligibility/ qualifi cations of the full-time members of the NST-DA shall be as below:

Ex-offi cio Membersi. Chairperson – Prime Ministerii. Vice- Chairperson – Minister in charge of Scheduled Tribes Development/Welfare/ Empower-

ment.

Full-time Membersi. Dy. Chairpersonii. Seven other Members selected by the Selection Committee from the following categories set

forth below:

b. Th e full-time Dy. Chairperson and other members shall be selected from the following categories:i. Th ose having expertise of and expertise in higher administration including planning, fi nance

and public policyii. Distinguished Educationists and academicians iii. Economists with expertise in developmental/ welfare/ rural economics, and other areas relevant

to Scheduled Tribes.iv. Successful entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Tribes v. Social scientists with expertise in areas relevant to Scheduled Tribes and any other professionals

in areas relevant to Scheduled Tribes.vi. Eminent social activists working for Scheduled Tribes or representatives of reputed NGOs

working for Scheduled Tribes.

c. Th e full-time Dy. Chairperson shall be from Scheduled Tribe. Th e Deputy Chairperson and the other members shall be selected from persons with experience of at least 10 years of distinguished work for Scheduled Tribes in their respective fi elds and possessing a proven track record of active concern for the rights and welfare of Scheduled Tribes.

d. It shall be ensured that a majority of members of NSTDA are from the Scheduled Tribes

e. Two out of the total members shall be women of whom at least one shall be from a Scheduled Tribe

f. Th e Full-time members shall be appointed from among persons who are not primary members of or persons associated with or working for a political party.

g. Th e Deputy Chairperson and other full-time Members of the Authority shall not, for a period of two years after they cease to be Deputy Chairperson or full-time Members, contest elections for any elective post, shall not accept any nominated post in any elective body and shall not accept any post

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under the Government of India or under the Government of any State or Union Territory including the offi ce of the President or the Vice President of the Union of India or the offi ce of a Governor of a State or a Lt. Governor of a Union Territory.

h. Th e Deputy Chairperson shall be the executive head of the NSTDA and shall be responsible for the actual functioning, activities and day-to-day work of the NSTDA.

i. Th e Deputy Chairperson of the NSTDA shall have the status of a Union Cabinet Minister and shall be a permanent invitee to all Cabinet Meetings of the Central Govt.

j. Other full-time Members of the NSTDA shall have the status of a Central Minister of State.

k. Th e Prime Minister as Chairperson will preside over crucial meetings of the NSTDA and the Dep-uty Chairperson shall preside over all other meetings.

l. Th e Minister-in-charge of Scheduled Tribes Development/Welfare/Empowerment as Vice-Chair-person will help to maintain the link between the NSTDA and the Ministry as the limb of the executive government which formulates broad policy, secures budgetary support, and moves impor-tant legislations through the Cabinet and Parliament and interfaces with the Parliament.

Section 5 BSTATE SCHEDULED TRIBES DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

5 B. 1 Constitution of the State Scheduled Tribes Development Authority.

Each State Government shall constitute a State Scheduled Tribes Development Authority for discharg-ing the functions and duties prescribed for, and for exercising powers conferred on such Authorities in relation to planning of Tribal sub-Plan (TsP) of the State in accordance with the criteria laid down in sub-section (4) of section 3 of this Act and allocation and utilisation of fi nancial resources under this Act.

5 B. 2 Functions, Duties, Responsibilities and Powers State Scheduled Tribes Development Authorities

(a) Th e SSTDA shall be responsible for formulating and approving State TsP (Annual, Five-Year and Per-spective) and sanction of funds for schemes and programmes there under as per the criteria under (4) of Section 3 of this Act. Th is includes the authority to decide which schemes and programmes, whether existing or new, can be included in the TsP and which cannot be included.

(b) Th ere shall be compact units in each SSTDA, with specialization in each area of development relevant to Scheduled Tribes, both in terms of sectors as well as categories like women, children, and persons with disabilities and Particularly Vulnerable Groups among Scheduled Tribes (PTGs).

(c) Th e SSTDA shall, in accordance with pre-Budget discussion criteria set forth in clause 4(f ) of section 3, after consultations with appropriate implementing Ministries/ Departments/ agencies, formulate the quantum of the TsP of the State and allocations to each Ministry/Department/other agency.

(d) Th ereafter the SSTDA shall issue ‘sanctions’ in favor of each appropriate Ministry/Department/other Agency on the basis of Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) detailing the specifi cities of each scheme and programme to be implemented in a manner which is transparent and locally verifi able and social-auditable, with provisions for concurrent monitoring, evaluation and timely corrections and improvement.

(e) Th e Authority shall have the power to give necessary directions to the implementing Ministry /Depart-ment/ Agency and to re-allocate or re-appropriate outlays from one Ministry /Department/ Agency to another whenever necessary, to advance the interests and goals of Scheduled Tribes development.

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(f ) Th e SSTDA shall organize periodical conferences of DSTDAs and take other measures for facilitating exchange of experiences and formulation of common strategies wherever appropriate.

(g) Th e SSTDA shall maintain a comprehensive and disaggregated data-base as required for planning and implementation of the TsP.

5 B. 3 Selection Committee of the State Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (SSTDA)(a) Th e members of the SSTDA shall be selected by a Selection Committee consisting of the following

members:(i) Ex-offi cio membersa. Chief Minister - Chairpersonb. Minister-in-charge of Scheduled Tribes Development/Welfare/ Empowermentc. Leaders of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly / Legislative Councild. Chairperson, State Commission for Scheduled Tribes (SCSC)

(ii) Six Nominated Members from the following categories:a. Th ose having experience of and expertise in higher administration including planning, fi nance

and public policyb. Distinguished Educationists and academicians. c. Economists with expertise in developmental/ welfare/ rural economics, and other areas relevant

to Scheduled Tribes.d. Social scientists with expertise in areas relevant to Scheduled Tribes and any other professionals

in areas relevant to Scheduled Tribese. Successful entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Tribes f. Two eminent social activists working for Scheduled Tribes or representatives of reputed NGOs

working for Scheduled Tribes.

(b) It shall be ensured that a majority of the Selection Committee members are from the Scheduled Tribes

(c) Two out of six nominated members will be women, at least one of whom shall be from a Scheduled Tribe

(d) Nominated Members shall be appointed from among persons who have a proven track record of active concern for the rights and welfare of Scheduled Tribes and are not primary members of or persons associated with or working for a political party.

5 B. 4 Composition of the State Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (SSTDA)

a. Th e composition of the SSTDA & eligibility/ qualifi cations of the full-time members of the SSTDA shall be as below:

Ex-offi cio Membersi. Chairperson – Chief Ministerii. Vice-Chairperson – Minister in charge of Scheduled Tribes Development/Welfare/ Empower-

ment.

Full-time Membersiii. Dy. Chairpersoniv. Seven other Members selected by the Selection Committee from the following categories:

b. Th e full-time Dy. Chairperson and other members shall be selected from the following categories:i. Th ose having experience of and expertise in higher administration including planning, fi nance

and public policy

34

ii. Distinguished educationists and academiciansiii. Economists with expertise in developmental/ welfare/ rural economics, and other areas relevant

to Scheduled Tribes.iv. Successful entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Tribes v. Social scientists with expertise in areas relevant to Scheduled Tribes and any other professionals

in areas relevant to Scheduled Tribes.vi. Eminent social activists working for Scheduled Tribes or representatives of reputed NGOs

working for Scheduled Tribes

c. Th e full-time Dy. Chairperson shall be from Scheduled Tribe. Th e Deputy Chairperson and the other members shall be selected from persons with experience of at least 10 years of distinguished work for Scheduled Tribes in their respective fi elds and possessing a proven track record of active concern for the rights and welfare of Scheduled Tribes.

d. Th e Deputy Chairperson of the SSTDA shall have the status of a State Cabinet Minister and shall be a permanent invitee to all meetings of the State Cabinet.

e. Other full-time members of the SSTDA shall have the status of a Minister of State of the State Government.

f. It shall be ensured that a majority of members of are from the Scheduled Tribes.

g. Two out of the total members shall be women, at least one of whom shall be from a Scheduled Tribe.

h. Th e Full-time members shall be appointed from among persons who are not primary members of or persons associated with or working for a political party.

i. Th e Deputy Chairperson and the full-time Members of the Authority shall not, for a period of two years after they cease to be Deputy Chairperson or full-time Members, contest elections for any elective post, shall not accept any nominated posts in any elective body or shall not accept any post under the Government of India or under the Government of any State or Union Territory including the offi ce of the President or the Vice President of the Union of India or the offi ce of a Governor of a State or a Lt. Governor of a Union Territory.

j. Th e Chief Minister as Chairperson will preside over crucial meetings of the SSTDA and the Deputy Chairperson shall preside over all other meetings.

k. Th e Deputy Chairperson shall be the executive head of the SSTDA and shall be responsible for the actual functioning, activities and day-to-day work of the SSTDA.

l. Th e Minister-in-charge of Scheduled Tribes Development/Welfare/ Empowerment as Vice-Chair-person will help to maintain the link between the SSTDA and the Ministry as the limb of the executive government which formulates broad policy, secures budgetary support, and moves impor-tant legislations through the Cabinet and Legislative Assembly and interfaces with the Legislative Assembly.

Section 5 CDISTRICT SCHEDULED TRIBES DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

5 C. 1 Constitution of the District Scheduled Tribes Development Authority

Each State Government shall constitute a District Scheduled Tribes Development Authority in each district of the State, except in districts where there are no Scheduled Tribes, for discharging the pow-ers and duties prescribed for and for exercising the powers conferred on such Authorities in relation to planning of the Tribal sub-Plan in accordance with the criteria laid down in sub-section (4) of section 3 of this Act and allocation and utilisation of Budgets under this Act.

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5 C. 2 Duties and Responsibilities of District Scheduled Tribes Development Authority

a. Th e role and duty of District ST Development authorities is function as a crucial mechanism for actively associating with the STs at the grassroots with the process of planning and implementation of the TsP and making this in essence a ST peoples Plan, by inter alia taking the measures

b. To obtain proposals for schemes for the planned development of STs from Gram Sabhas in Sched-uled Areas and from the bodies of ST Presidents and Members of Panchayats and Municipalities as defi ned in Article 243 r/w243B and 243P r/w 243Q in the Constitution, and from other sources concerned with ST development in keeping with the criteria mentioned in the sub-section (4) of Section 3 of this Act.

c. To prepare a district TsP on that basis and furnish it as input for the NSTDA and SSTDA for the formulation of Central TsP and State TsP.

d. To provide any other inputs from time to time for formulation of Central and state TsP.

e. To closely supervise and ensure proper implementation of the TsP in the district by appropriate de-partments, in accordance with the results and outcomes to be achieved as per sanction orders issued by the NSTDA/SSTDAs to Central Ministries/ Departments/ Agencies and State Departments and Agencies, and the MOUs between them.

f. To ensure transparency in implementation in a manner which can be locally verifi ed and social-audited scheme-wise and in this process actively involve ST Presidents and Members of Panchayats and Municipalities and NGOs and activists working for STs?

g. To devise all other possible innovative measures to associate the masses of Scheduled Tribes with the process of planning and implementation of the TsP and make this an eff ective and powerful peoples movement in addition to being a systematic governance and administrative exercise.

h. To report to the NSTDA / SSTDA, as prescribed, about implementation of Central and State TsP at district-level and send special reports wherever necessary if any urgent action or course-correction or re-allocation of outlays is required on the part of the NSTDA/ SSTDA.

5 C. 3 Composition of the District Scheduled Tribes Development Authority (DSTDA)

1. Th e District Collector/Deputy Commissioner shall be the Chairperson of the DSTDA.

2. Th e State Government shall appoint a full-time Additional Collector or Joint Collector/Additional or Joint Dy. Commissioner in the senior scale of the IAS exclusively to assist the Collector/Dy. Commis-sioner in the implementation and monitoring of the TSP at district level and to whom no other work shall be entrusted under any circumstances.

3. Other members of the DSCDA shall be drawn from:

a. District heads of relevant Departments in the District

b. Representatives of NGOs with reputation for sincere work for Scheduled of whom 50% women shall be women, to be nominated by District Collector / Deputy Commissioner.

c. Subject-matter experts with reputation for, commitment to and experience of development and empowerment of Scheduled Tribes whom 50% women shall be women to be nominated by Dis-trict Collector / Deputy Commissioner.

4. Th e Non-offi cial Members of the District Authority shall not, for a period of three years after they cease to be Members of the District Authority, contest elections for any elective post and shall not accept any nominated post in any elective body and shall not accept any post under the Government of India or under the Government of any State or Union Territory.

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Section 6MEETINGS OF THE AUTHORITIES, REVIEW AND MONITORING OF IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL COMPONENT PLAN FOR SCHEDULED CASTES AND TRIBAL SUB-PLAN:

1. (a) Th e NSCDA and NSTDA shall meet at least once in a month to review the release and utilisation of funds to the schemes and programmes included respectively in the SCP and TSP of Government of India and, as the case may be, of the State Governments and the Union Territories, and monitor the progress of implementation of the schemes sanctioned under them. Monitoring reports shall be made available in the public domain including on web portal referenced in section 4 (A) (5) and 5 (A) (5).

(b) Th e NSCDA and NSTDA shall observe such rules of procedure as they prescribe for them-selves under section 7(6) in regard to the transaction of business at their meetings.

2. (a) Th e SSCDA and SSTDA shall meet at least once in a month to review the release and utilisation of funds to the schemes and programmes included respectively in the SCP and TSP of the State and of the Centre in relation to the State and monitor the progress of implementation of the schemes sanctioned under them. Monitoring reports shall be made available in the public domain including on the web portal referenced in section 4 B (5) and 5 B(5).

(b) Th e SSCDA and SSTDA shall observe such rules of procedure as they prescribe for them-selves under section 7(6) in regard to the transaction of the business at their meetings.

3. Th e DSCDAs and DSTDAs shall meet at least once in a month to monitor the progress of implemen-tation of the schemes and programmes and submit monthly reports as prescribed respectively to the SSCDA and SSTDA. Th e District Collector/Deputy Commissioner shall be especially responsible for implementation of the schemes as per the time schedule prescribed. Th e full-time Convener shall con-tinuously monitor the progress of the implementation of the schemes with monitoring reports made available in the public domain including on web portal referenced in section 4 C(4) and 5 C(4).

4. (a) Th e Government of India shall have the power to monitor the progress of implementation of the SCP and TSP of the States and Union Territories and issue instructions or directions to the States and Union Territories in this regard, but without interfering with the autonomy of the SSCDAs and SSTDAs. Th ey may also call for reports from time to time from the Governments of State and Union Territories.

(b) Th e NSCDA and NSTDA shall furnish such information as is required by the Govern-ment of India in order to reply questions in the Parliament and otherwise keep the Parliament informed whenever necessary.

5. Th e expenditure on the staff in the NSCDA and NSTDA and on the staff of each SSCDA and SSTDA and the DSCDAs and DSTDAs shall be from the non-Plan budget of the Govt. of India and of each State respectively.

Th e Government of India and State Governments shall provide in full in their respective Annu-al non-Plan Budgets according to the staffi ng pattern and Budget formulated by the NSCDA and SSCDAs and NSTDA and SSTDAs and place the budgeted amounts at the disposal of the respective Authorities.

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Chapter - IV

GENERAL

Section 7TENURE, TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF OFFICE OF DY. CHAIRPERSON AND OTHER FULL-TIME MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL AND STATE SC AND ST DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES

7.1 Term of offi ce

1. Th e Deputy Chairperson and the full time members shall be appointed for a period of fi ve years com-puted from the date on which the Deputy Chairperson enters offi ce

2. No person who has attained the age of 75 years or more shall be appointed as Dy. Chairperson and Full-time Member of the National and State SC and ST Development Authorities.

3. Any vacancy that may arise in the post of the Dy. Chairperson or of any other full-time member before the fi ve-year term of the Dy. Chairperson or of any other full-time Member is completed, on account of resignation or any other reason, shall be fi lled only for the residual part of the fi ve year term

7.2 Resignation and removal of Dy. Chairperson and full time members

1. Th e Dy. Chairperson or any Member may, by notice in writing under his or her hand addressed to the President of India, and as the case may be, Governor or the Lt. Governor of Union Territories resigns his or her offi ce.

2. Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), the Dy. Chairperson or any Member shall only be removed from his offi ce by order of the President of India and as the case may be, Governor or the Lt. Governor of Union Territories on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity after the Supreme Court or High Court on reference being made to it by the President, and as the case may be, the Governor or the Lt. Governor of Union Territories has, on inquiry held in accordance with the procedure prescribed in that behalf by the Supreme Court and as the case may be, High Court reported that the Dy. Chairper-son or the Member, as the case may be, ought on any such ground to be removed.

3. Notwithstanding anything in this sub-section, the President and as the case may be, the Governor or the Lt. Governor of Union Territories, may by order, remove from offi ce the Dy. Chairperson or any Member if the Dy. Chairperson or such Member, as the case may be-

a. is adjudged an insolvent; or

b. engages during his term of offi ce in any paid employment outside the duties of his or her offi ce; or

c. is unfi t to continue in offi ce by reason of infi rmity of mind or body ; or

38

d. is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or

e. is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an off ence which in the opinion of the President and as the case may be, the Governor or Lt. Governor of Union Territories, involves moral turpi-tude.

f. Insolvency, incapacity for health or other reasons,

g. Enquiry by a supreme court

h. Confl ict of interest: - provided that before such removal due opportunity shall be given to such Deputy Chairperson or full-time Member for explanation and the explanation shall be considered by the President of India of the National Authorities or the governor or the Lt. Governor of Union Territories in the case of the State Authorities.

7. 3 Warrant of an Appointment

Th e Deputy Chairperson and the Full time members shall be appointed by warrant of appoint-ment by the President of India or the Governor or Lt. Governor of Union Territories as the case may be, and shall be sworn in by the President or the Governor or the Lt. Governor of Union Territories as the case may be.

Section 8NON-DIVERTIBILITY AND NON-LAPSABILITY1 Non-Divertibility and Non-Lapsability of SCP and TsP Outlays

a. Outlays provided under the SCP and TSP funds of the Centre, States and Union Territories shall be uti-lized within the stipulated time, and a periodic monitoring mechanism shall be established. No part of the SCP and TSP outlays shall lapse at the end of the fi nancial year. Amounts unutilized in the fi nancial year, if any, shall be transferred to the Non Lapsable Pool of Resources as mentioned in the clause b of this section and such unutilized outlays shall be carried forward and utilized in the next year or years.

b. A Non-Lapsable Pool of Resources for SCP and TSP at the national and state levels shall be established, at both the Union government level and the State Government level, to hold such funds which have not been utilized in the fi nancial year and utilize the same in the next year or years for achieving the overarching goals of SC and ST development in accordance with the criteria as mentioned under sub-section (4) of section 3.

2 SCP and TsP in the Credit System

a. Th e SCP for Scheduled Castes and TSP for Scheduled Tribes shall be built into and provided in the credit system by earmarking for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes a due share of advances by banks, co-operatives and other fi nancial institutions.

b. Th e NSCDA, SSCDA and DSCDAs and NSTDA, SSTDA and DSTDAs shall closely interact with banks, co-operatives and other fi nancial institutions to ensure smooth and easy fl ow of adequate and timely credit for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively as part of their Plans.

c. Any practical diffi culty faced by them in this regard may be taken up by the NSCDA / SSCDAs and NSTDA/SSTDAs with the Ministry of Finance or Ministry of Agriculture in the case of cooperatives or the State Department in charge of Cooperatives. Th ereupon the Ministry of Finance / Ministry of Agriculture / State Department in charge of Cooperatives shall take prompt action to solve the problem.

39

3 Powers of SC and ST Development Authorities to summon offi cers and Consultation with Chief Min-isters and Ministers

a. Th e Scheduled Castes Development Authorities and the Scheduled Tribes Development Authorities shall have the power, whenever necessary, to require the presence of any person including offi cers of Central and State Governments and any information or document from them. To further facilitate this, the NSCDA and SSCDAs and NSTDA and SSTDAs shall, while performing their functions, also have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and in particular in respect of the following matters, namely:

i. Summoning and ensuring the attendance of any person, including offi cers of Central and State Governments, from any part of India and examining him on oath;

ii. Requiring the discovery and production of any document;

iii. Receiving evidence on affi davit;

iv. Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or offi ce;

v. Issuing summons for the examination of witnesses and documents; and any other matter which may be prescribed.

b. (i) When the NSCDA and any SSCDA or NSTDA and any SSTDA considers any matter to be seri-ous and requiring the personal attention of any Union or State Minister, such Minister, on the request of the NSCDA/NSTDA or the SSCDA/SSTDA, shall make it convenient promptly to meet with the NSCDA/SSCDA or NSTDA/SSTDA for discussions to facilitate quick resolution of such matter.

(ii) Where in the opinion of the NSCDA or the NSTDA a matter is so serious and important as to require the personal attention of the Chief Minister of a State, such Chief Minister shall make it convenient promptly to meet the NSCDA / NSTDA for discussions to facilitate quick resolution of such matter.

4 Functional, fi nancial and administrative autonomy of National and State Development Authorities

(i) Th e NSCDA and SSCDAs and the NSTDA and SSTDAs shall prescribe and regulate their own proce-dure.

(ii) (a) Th e NSCDA and SSCDAs and NSTDA and SSTDAS shall have the authority to formulate the functional facilities required by them to facilitate their smooth and autonomous functioning.

(b) Th e SSCDAs and SSTDAs shall have the same authority in respect of the DSCDAs and DSTDAs respectively.

(iii) (a) Th e NSCDA and SSCDAs and NSTDA and SSTDAs shall have the authority to formulate their own staffi ng pattern on the basis of effi ciency, the requirements of the tasks entrusted to them and at the same time utilizing modern systems and facilities so that there is no non-functional and counter-productive proliferation.

(b) Each SSCDA and SSTDA may also formulate the staffi ng pattern for themselves.

(c) Th e NSCDA and SSCDAs and NSTDA and SSTDAs shall also have authority either to recruit staff on regular or contract basis or take staff , if and to the extent suitable personnel are available, on deputation, as necessary in their judgment for the eff ective implementation respectively of the SCP and TsP, and formulate rules of recruitment or rules of deputation; and the Government of India and State Govern-

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ments shall provide all necessary assistance sought by the NSCDA / SSCDAs and NSTDA/SSTDAs. Th e SSCDAs and SSTDAs shall have the same authority in respect of staffi ng for the DSCDAs / DST-DAs.

(iv) Th e NSCDA and SSCDAs and NSTDA and SSTDAs shall have power to formulate their fi nancial requirements, and in the case of the SSCDAs and SSTDAs the fi nancial requirement of the DSCDAs / DSTDAs also, for eff ective functioning and the Govt. of India / State Governments shall provide the amounts in full in their respective Annual non-Plan Budgets and place such amounts at the disposal of NSCDA/NSTDA and SSCDAs/SSTDAs respectively.

Section 9PROVISIONS OF THE ACT - AN ADDITIONALITY

1. Th e provisions of the Act shall be, in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions of any other law, the policies and decisions of the Central Government and each of the State Government, for the time being in force, for the development and welfare of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

2. If any of the existing laws, policies and decisions is adverse to the interests of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes and their development and welfare and to the purposeful formulation and eff ective implementation of the SCP or TSP, the NSCDA / NSTDA and SSCDA/SSTDA may advise the Cen-tral Government or a State Government to repeal or amend such law, policies and decisions.

3. Such advice of the NSCDA/NSTDA or SSCDA/SSTDA shall ordinarily be binding on the Central Government and the State Governments.

4. In the rare instances where the Central Government or a State Government do not wholly or partly agree with the advice of the NSCDA/NSTDA or the SSCDA/SSTDA, that Government shall record reasons for such disagreement.

Section 10ACCOUNTABILITY AND PENALTIES

10.1 Accountability and Transparency of the Executive

Th e Central and state Ministries /Departments / Agencies and the District Departments/Agen-cies shalla. ensure transparency and accountability at all levels in the implementation of SCP for Scheduled

Castes Schemes by maintaining the following:

i. transparency in utilisation of fi nancial resources and expenditure

ii. maintain scheme wise, State wise, district wise, village wise and benefi ciary wise details

iii. present ‘Outcome Budget’ of SCP for Scheduled Castes annually to Parliament

iv. set up a web portal for tracking the progress of the implementation, utilisation of fi nancial resources and expenditure, output and outcome indicators of SCP;

b. facilitate at minimum an annual social auditing of expenditure of SCP funds, and facilitate analy-sis of improvement in Human Development Index against the projections for the country, state, district and blocks;

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10. 2 Formulation, Implementation of SCP and TSP is a Right of SCs and STs

Th e formulation and implementation of the SCP for Scheduled Castes and TSP for Scheduled Tribes in accordance with this Act shall be the right of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

10. 3 Litigation and Costs

Any member of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or any organization working for them shall be free to move the Supreme Court, High Courts or any other appropriate legal forum, in case of any failure or omission to formulate and implement the SCP and TSP in ac-cordance with this Act, and the Government of India or the State Government, as the case may be, shall bear the cost of the litigation from the inception till fi nal disposal.

10. 4 Failure of implementation an off ence under SC ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989

(a) Failure to implement the provisions of this Act or any lapse, unless and until the contrary is proved, shall be presumed to be an off ence punishable under section 4 of Th e Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. In addition, such offi cer shall also be liable for disciplinary action under the relevant Conduct Rules. Any loss or damage caused to the State, whether at the Cen-tral level or at the State level, or to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, shall be recoverable from the offi cer who is found guilty.

(b) Th e NSCDA/NSTDA and SSCDAs/SSTDAs shall have powers to recommend to the appropriate Government prosecution of any such offi cer who is negligent in his work pertaining to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and to the SCP/TSP, under Section 4 of the Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989. For this purpose, such negligence shall be treated as an atroc-ity under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

(c) The recommendation of the NSCDA or an SSCDA or of the NSTDA or an SSTDA for prosecu-tion of any person under the POA Act, 1989 shall be binding on the Central Government or a State Government.

(d) If Central government or a State Government do not wholly or partly agree with the recommendation of the NSCDA/NSTDA or of an SSCDA/SSTDA the Government shall immediately notify NSCDA/NSTDA or SSCDA/SSTDA reasons for such disagreement, and an independent investigation led by an Ombudsmen shall be conducted to assess and investigate basis for the penalty recommendation, including interviews with interested parties. Determination of the Ombudsmen shall be binding.

10.5 Power to impose fi ne and penalty

In addition to and without prejudice to section above (3 a,b,c) the NSCDA/NSTDA and the SSCDA/SSTDA shall also have the power to impose a lump sum penalty, fi ne on any public servant for failure for implement the provisions of this act or for any lapse in its implementa-tion, which may extend upto Rupees fi fty thousand which shall be recovered from the public servant on whom the penalty is imposed and this shall be recorded in the confi dential report of such Public Servant.

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Section 11PROTECTION OF THE ACTION TAKEN IN GOOD FAITH;

All actions taken in good faith in the implementation of the provisions of this Act shall stand protected.

Section 12POWER OF THE CENTRAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS TO FRAME RULES

Th e Government of India, State Governments and Union territories may by notifi cation in the Gazette of India or State Gazette respectively make rules, to carry out all or any of the purposes of this Act, ensuring that no rule or guideline issued by them abridges or dilutes the autonomy of the NSCDA and SSCDAs or the NSTDA and SSTDAs, especially in the light of section 7 (6) to (9).

Section 13POWER TO REMOVE DIFFICULTIES:

If any diffi culty arises in giving eff ect to any of the provisions of this Act, the Government of India or a State Government or Union Territory may, after obtaining the advice of the NSCDA or NSTDA, or of the respective SSCDA or SSTDA, which advice shall be ordinarily binding on the Govt. of India and the government of a State or Union Territory, by general or special order, published in the offi cial Gazette of India or State Gazette, make such provision consistent with the provisions and objectives of this Act, as may appear to them to be necessary or expedient for the removal of the diffi culty.