That's the whopping sum (Rs 110 cr left from last year and Rs 267 cr that'll be demanded this year) the state's Minorities Development Dept will try to spend before the Assembly polls in October
That's the whopping sum (Rs 110 cr left from last year and Rs 267 cr that'll be demanded this year) the state's Minorities Development Dept will try to spend before the Assembly polls in October
More than a year after the Minorities Development Department (MDD) came into existence, and just in time for the Assembly elections, the Congress-NCP government seems to have woken up to the needs of the minorities.
Minister for Minority Affairs Anees Ahmed hopes to spend about Rs 377 crore for minority development before September, when the code of conduct is expected to come into effect. 
He will demand at least Rs 267 crore this year and attempt to distribute most of it before the polls. This when about Rs 110 crore of the Rs 167 crore allocated last year is yet to be disbursed.
Spent so far...
Of the Rs 167 cr allocated last year, so far around Rs 51.5 cr has been given to the Maulana Azad Financial Corporation and Rs 6.8 cr has been given to the state education department for scholarships
'This nothing, but a political gimmick'
Said Ahmed, "At the budget session in June, we will be demanding up to Rs 100 crore more than we got last year. We will be drawing up several schemes such as funding for women, self help groups and construction of girls hostels for students coming from far off places to cities like Mumbai and Pune."
When asked about the delay in disbursal of funds already allocated for minorities' development, the minister said, "The funds will be disbursed immediately after the code of conduct is lifted."
Said a party source, "Spending the entire sum before the polls may not be possible, but we will try to disburse as much of it as we can."
The reasons
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The reasons for non-disbursal of the funds range from delay in approval of the schemes by the cabinet to the change in the government at the end of 2008 and enforcement of the code of conduct for the general elections.
K M Arif, a social worker and chairperson of the Associated Industrial Co-operative Credit Society, too is indignant about the MDD's attempts.
"This is a political gimmick. Have they done any assessment of the needs of the community even with regard to education? They are just trying to show that they are doing something for the minorities," said Arif.
BJP state president Nitin Gadkari said "They want to fool the people and take political advantage by doing these things. They don't have the political will to implement these schemes and they won't benefit the people."
Money to be spent
The remaining Rs 110 crore will be spent on schemes ranging from uniform allowance for economically backward students of Std I to Std IV and attendance allowance for students of all classes to scholarships for professional courses and infrastructure funds up to Rs 2 lakh for schools that have more than 70 per cent minority students.
The department will also provide funds under the Area Development Programme to municipal corporations and municipalities. These funds range from Rs 20 lakh for municipal corporations to Rs 15 lakh for A-grade municipalities and Rs 10 lakh for B and C grade ones.
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