The changing face of the Dalits: Budget as a catalyst for empowerment

For many years now, Dalit and tribal rights advocacy groups have been analysing the Union Budget from the standpoint of their communities: Does the Budget meet the specific needs of Dalits and tribals (broadly the Dalit category includes the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) as they change with the evolving economy? Do allocations need tweaking or are they utilised fully? Is the money meant for the schemes reaching the people it is supposed to reach? And can capital expenditure be re-imagined to have a social-justice component?

 

As to the last, most “real” economists (as opposed to lapsed ones) are categorical. Capital expenditure is caste-, class-, and gender-neutral. Only a few believe that a part of capital expenditure can be gender-specific, even fewer that it can be caste-specific. But some agree that a road or a bridge can be visualised in such a way that the balance of advantage is in favour of socially disadvantaged groups.

 

 

The biggest angst of Dalit groups is the issue of manual scavenging. According to the 2011 census, there were about 2.6 million dry latrines in India (where human excreta is removed physically by a person). Manual scavenging was banned via legislation in 2013. From the Union Budget of 2014-15 onwards, regular outlays were made for a scheme called the Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), so that they could have an alternative means of income to support themselves. These were almost never fully utilised.

 

In 2023-24, the Centre changed the name of the scheme to “National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem” (NAMASTE). The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment said the new scheme would prevent “hazardous cleaning and promote safe cleaning practices through trained and certified sanitation workers”. In 2023-24, Rs 97.4 crore was allocated for the scheme. But revised estimates show spending was only about one-third. In tandem, the toilet-building programme too was launched in 2014. As sanitation is a state subject, this fell in the state governments’ domain with the Centre only offering technical and financial help. A spinoff of this was the belief that this would end manual scavenging. But this has not happened.  The last available report of the National Commission of Safai Karamcharis (2021-22) not only concedes that India still has manual scavengers — the last survey was done in March-September 2018 over 18 states and found 42,303 people were still employed as manual scavengers — but raises a number of operational problems including utilisation of finances. By thinking about financial incentives, the Union Budget could be one avenue of ending a practice that is profoundly degrading for human beings and a shame on India.

 

Dalit and tribal groups alike see education as a means of social justice. But they also say schemes designed specifically for them — and not as a percentage of the allocation for general schemes for nutrition, etc — are only a few, like pre- and post-matric scholarships and the Eklavya Schools scheme. The outlays for scholarships [for Scheduled Castes, for instance, it was Rs 209 crore in 2022–23; Rs 430 crore in 2023–24 (Revised Estimates); and Rs 500 crore in 2024–25 (Budget Estimates)] are increasing steadily. But it is the outlay for Eklavya Model Residential Schools, designed to serve the educational needs of tribal populaces, that has seen a massive increase. In the Budget Estimates 2023-24, the figure was Rs 5,943 crore. In the Revised Estimates, it was Rs 2,472 crore. In 2024-25, the Budget Estimate for these schools was Rs 6,399 crore. When you consider actual spending before this (Rs 1,200 crore in 2021; Rs 1,058 crore in 2021-22; and Rs 1,999 crore in 2022-23), the jump is huge. And the amount of unspent money in 2023-24 suggests tweaking is needed.

 

A big area of concern is employment. The government, specifically the Ministry of Railways, has been the biggest employer for these communities. But privatisation and the outsourcing of more and more services are pushing out Dalits. New growth areas like civil aviation and defence are seeing lower participation from these communities: This is for want of training.

 

The economy is changing. So is the profile of the Dalits and their wants and needs, ambitions and expectations. Schemes for their empowerment — and there are many — have not been reviewed or changed for many decades, although the recipients of these schemes are no longer in the same place. The Budget could be one way of introducing some out-of-the-box thinking for these communities.