Nagaland received INR 3.14 cr. in 2018-19 from Tribal Affairs ministry

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Jan. 19 (EMN):The ministry of Tribal Affairs sanctioned funds amounting to INR 3.14 crore to the Nagaland government as grant-in-aid general (GG) under the scheme Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS) for the year 2018-19 to carry out various activities in the Tribal Affairs department. This update was from the ministry of Tribal Affairs dated Feb. 14 2019.

A letter addressed to the pay and accounts officer of the ministry of Tribal Affairs stated that expenditure to the tune of INR 3. 14 crore as special central assistance to tribal sub-schemes was an addition to State Plan funds.

Funds under the SCA to TSS must be utilised for “raising socio-economic level of Schedule Tribes commensurate with objectives enshrined in the guidelines dated June 17 2016 as amended from time to time.”

It also directed that the “state government shall ensure immediate transfer of funds to respective implementing agencies for implementation of activities to be approved by MoTA Project Appraisal Committee / competent authority. Progress reports of SCA to TSS may be furnished in the format prescribed by MoTA. A certificate of actual utilization of the grants received for the purpose, for which it has been sanctioned, is to be furnished to the ministry as per provisions of General Financial Rules (GFR), 2017 amended from time to time.”

The state government has to ensure that grant-in-aid is used for the purpose for which it is sanctioned after following due procedure in a transparent manner and after obtaining all necessary clearances as required under the various central/state Acts, rules, regulations etc. In case of construction of infrastructure facilities, norms and Schedule of Rates (SOR) fixed by the state government should be followed, it stated.

Also, “state government shall ensure that concerned Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) should be duly informed about the projects/programmes relating to tribal development to be implemented in the area of jurisdiction. State government shall also ensure that meetings of Gram Sabha are conducted on regular interval as per norms in such areas.”

As per the report, the proposals in the SCA to TSS for Nagaland during 2018-19 are as stated in the table: