No adventure,just consolidation

Even as the Congress works hard against BSP chief Mayawatis hold over Dalits,the Budget only announced a new scheme of Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana PMAGY something on the lines of Ambedkar Villages started by Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh only as a pilot scheme despite a 16-member Committee of Ministers on Dalit Affairs headed by Pranab Mukherjee himself finalising a roadmap last year.

There are about 44,000 villages in which the population of Scheduled Castes is above 50 per cent. A new scheme called Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana is being launched this year on a pilot basis,for the integrated development of 1,000 such villages. I propose an allocation of Rs 100 crore for this scheme.  Each village would be able to avail gap funding of Rs 10 lakh over and above the allocations under rural development and poverty alleviation schemes, Finance Minister Mukherjee said in his Budget speech,promising to expand the scheme in the coming years.

The cautious approach in social sector was visible again when Mukherjee announced the restructuring of government-sponsored self-employment scheme Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna into the National Rural Livelihood Mission as a time-bound programme for poverty eradication by 2014-15 without specifying the details of the new funding pattern and offering verbal commitment only.

Apart from providing capital subsidy at an enhanced rate under the new mission,it is also proposed to provide interest subsidy to poor households for loans up to Rs one lakh from banks, Mukherjee said without providing details of government support.

This came under criticism from former rural development minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh who blamed it on the lack of will power of the government to break new grounds. It is a routine Budget. There is nothing path-breaking for social sector. In fact, it has demonstrated the lack of governments will power towards poverty eradication, Singh told The Indian Express.

The Budget also demonstrated the governments hesitation in fixing deadlines for the promises made in the Presidents speech early last month.

For instance,Mukherjee did not fix any deadline and also skipped making separate budgetary allocation for the proposed ambitious National Food Security Act. I am happy to announce that the work on National Food Security Act has begun in right earnest. This will ensure that every family living below the poverty line in rural or urban areas will be entitled to 25 kilos of rice or wheat per month at Rs 3 a kilo, he said.

The Finance Minister only expressed his commitment to provide a real wage of Rs 100 under NREGA and bypassed the promise of expanding the scope of works under the NREGA. Mukherjee only flaunted a hike in the Budget for NREG from about Rs 30,000 crore last year to Rs 39,100 crore for the current fiscal.

He also announced a hike of 45 per cent over last years allocation for various components of previous UPA governments Bharat Nirman project,which comprise crucial rural infrastructure segments like rural housing 63 per cent hike,electricity 27 per cent hike,roads 59 per cent hike,irrigation 75 per cent hike.

Mukherjee also announced to launch a new project for modernising employment exchanges but refrained from announcing an allocation.

Honouring a promise in the Presidents speech,Mukherjee also announced the launch of a new National Mission for Female Literacy to reduce the current level of female illiteracy by half in next three years with special focus on minorities,SC,ST and other marginalised groups. However,he did not outline an allocation for the scheme.