Telangana Assembly adopts Bhoodan Bill
The Bhoodan Amendment Act empowers the government to constitute Bhoodan Land Trust and appoint members to the trust.
Hyderabad: The Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed “The Telangana Bhoodan and Gramdan (Amendment) Bill, 2017” while “The Telangana State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Special Development Fund (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources), Bill 2017,” that will replace the old Act on SC/ ST Sub-Plan 2013, will be taken up for adoption on Friday.
The Bhoodan Amendment Act empowers the government to constitute Bhoodan Land Trust and appoint members to the trust. Earlier, the nominees of Acharya Vinobha Bhave had the power to appoint members.
However, there are controversies with respect to ‘nominee’ claims since Vinobha Bhave had passed away over 50 years ago and there are complaints that some members created forged documents and were claiming themselves to be nominees of Vinobha Bhave.
The SC, ST SDF Act mandates the government to allot funds to SCs and STs based on their population without linking it to the regular development programmes.
The key change brought in the new Act will enable the government carry forward the unspent funds that are allocated year after year. In the earlier law, a 10-year time limit was fixed for the implementation, whereas the new law does not put any limit.
Nodal agencies will decide the priority schemes and projects for the welfare of SC/ST communities and the government will release funds on the basis of their recommendations. Provisions have been made to effectively utilise the funds allocated for the target communities based on the proportion of their population in the state within the Budget year.
As per the law, a state-level committee headed by the Chief Minister will take a call on the quantum of allocations every year. At the district level, collectors will head the committee and district MLAs and MPs will be its members.
In this manner, the government will provide separate funds exclusively for SC/ST development through the SDF. The Bhoodan Amendment Act empowers the government to constitute Bhoodan Land Trust and appoint members for the trust.