States’ burden to run 32 of 63 schemes shoots up

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 1

State governments will now have to bear either the entire or an increased financial burden to run half the schemes being rolled with the assistance of the Centre.

At least eight centrally sponsored schemes will henceforth not get any Union finances at all while 24 schemes will see significant cuts in central share with the states having to put in money.

The eight schemes which stand delinked from central funding are — the National e-governance plan, Backward Region Grant Funds, scheme to modernise police, another to develop export infrastructure, the scheme for setting up 6,000 model schools, the National Mission on Food Processing, the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Empowerment Scheme and lastly, the scheme on tourist infrastructure.

Apart from these schemes where states will have to arrange all the funding now, there are 24 additional schemes where the government will modify the Centre and state funding pattern to transfer the expenditure burden more to the states.

In this category are schemes critical to public health improvement, nutrition and education such as the National AIDS and STD Control Programme, the National Health Mission, the Integrated Child Development Services, the Rashtriya Uchhatar Shiksha Abhiyan and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.

Currently, there are in all 63 programmes and schemes under central assistance for state plans of which the Centre will now fully fund only 31.

The shift follows the government’s decision to accept the 14th Finance Commission Recommendations to devolve 62 per cent of all tax receipts to states and the Centre is in the process of restructuring expenditure patterns.

The justification for the move is contained in the budget documents that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

The papers say, “Consequent upon substantially higher devolution to the states, many schemes on the state list are being delinked from central support. Eight are to be delinked and in some centrally sponsored schemes, the Centre, state sharing pattern will be modified.”

Some programmes that the Centre will still fully fund include the MNREGA, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Midday Meal Scheme and the MPLADS scheme.

What is worrisome are the major cuts across all social sector schemes.

SSA, the scheme used to build school infrastructure under the Right to Education Act has seen a major cut from Rs 27,758 crore last Budget to Rs 22,000 crore yesterday. The Midday Meal programme will get only Rs 9,236 crore now as against Rs 13,215 crore in the last Budget.

Cuts have been made across major social sector schemes as also the Women and Child Development, Education and Health Ministries.