The Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch (AARM) has issued the following statement on March 4

 THE Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch strongly protests against the sharp cuts in allocations for the Tribal Sub-Plan from Rs 26,715 crores in 2014-2015 to Rs 19,980 crores in 2015-2016. Even if the MGNREGA account is subtracted it still will be woefully inadequate since the allocations to MGNREGA also have been cut. This gross injustice to the most marginalised sections of Indian society is in sharp contrast to the many concessions given to corporates, foreign and domestic, in the budget 2015-2016.

 The budget papers state that since the centre has transferred more funds to the states, “the states are to contribute to any shortfall (to TSP) from their enhanced resources.” While there is no guarantee that the states will either get more resources and that even if they do, that they will spend it on the TSP, what is clear is that tribals are once again being deprived and denied their due share in national resources.

The objective of the TSP is to earmark resources for tribals in proportion to their share in the population, to meet the multiple developmental deficits suffered by tribals.

At present the proportion of the tribal population is 8.6 per cent. But the actual allocation is just 4.3 per cent of the total plan outlay. In monetary terms, in the current Plan outlay this would amount to an allocation of over Rs 40,000 crores but the actual allocation is not even half of it.

In specific important programmes, the cuts are particularly shocking such as in post-matric scholarships for SC/STs the allocation is less by 305.78 crore rupees and has been brought down to 1599 crore rupees, in higher education, in employment schemes. The only specific promise is for loans from a new bank to be set up called the Mudhra bank to give easy loans to SC/ST in the micro sector. But how much will actually materialise is another question.

Thus tribals have been denied on both counts. Firstly by the cut in allocations compared to the previous year and secondly in relation to what they should get as part of their share in the Plan outlay.

These cuts should also be seen in the context of the general thrust of the budget which is clearly designed to push the neo-liberal agenda of pro-corporate policies and subsidies for the rich. The Scheduled Caste Special Component Plan has suffered an even bigger cut and is 61 per cent less than what it should be. The gender budget is also cut by 20 per cent. Even a programme (ICDS) of such importance for the welfare of working women and their children, including tribal mothers and children has been halved from 16,000 crore rupees to just 8000 crores rupees. There are savage cuts in social sector allocations in critical areas such as health, education, housing, sanitation, water resources and even mid-day meal scheme.

Corporates will certainly see ‘ache din’ with the promise of the reduction of corporate tax rates by 5 per cent, and tax concessions at various levels amounting to revenue foregone to the extent of 5.89 lakh crore rupees. The government prefers to protect the wealth of the rich by lowering taxes and solves the ensuing “deficit” by slashing expenditures on schemes for the mass of people.

This is an anti-people, anti-tribal, pro-rich budget. The AARM calls upon all its units to protest against this budget jointly with other tribal organisations and other democratic organisations and also independently. Protests can include burning the effigy of this anti-people budget and of the government which has brought it.

The cuts in allocations also point out to the urgency for a legal mechanism to ensure that tribals and dalits get their fair share of national resources. The AARM therefore reiterates its demand for a law to be brought in parliament to ensure mandatory allocations to tribals and dalits according to their population.