The Congress-led Karnataka government is once again in the eye of a political storm after reports emerged that it plans to divert a substantial portion of the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) funds towards its ambitious guarantee schemes. The move, if executed, will involve siphoning off over Rs 11,896 crore funds exclusively allocated for the welfare and upliftment of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) to run populist welfare programs intended for the general population.
Out of the Rs 42,017.51 crore allocated under SCSP-TSP for the financial year 2025–26, the Congress government is eyeing this significant portion for its five guarantee schemes: Rs 7,438 crore for Grihalakshmi, Rs 2,626 crore for Grihajyothi, Rs 1,537 crore for Shakti, Rs 1,670 crore for Annabhagya, and Rs 162 crore for Yuvanidhi.
This move has sparked widespread criticism from opposition parties, Dalit rights groups, and members of the SC/ST communities. They accuse the government of betraying the constitutional mandate of targeted welfare by diverting funds meant for historically disadvantaged communities to fulfil election promises that serve political ends.
Repeat of a controversial pattern
This is not the first time such a move has drawn backlash. In 2024–25, a substantial part of SCSP-TSP funds, Rs 9,797 crore out of Rs 14,282 crore earmarked, was used for guarantee schemes, despite a separate allocation of Rs 52,000 crore for guarantees in the budget. The matter had led to fiery debates in the legislative council and widespread protests from Dalit organisations.
Opposition gears up for fight.
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalawadi Narayanaswamy, strongly condemned the government’s move, calling it a “gross injustice” to SC and ST communities. “What is the point of announcing Rs 42,000 crore under SCSP-TSP if only Rs 7,000 crore is actually used for community-specific development? The rest is being stealthily funneled into guarantees. This is nothing short of cheating the Dalit community,” he said.
Narayanaswamy further questioned the government’s intentions, asking why the SCSP-TSP corpus should be tapped at all when funds have already been separately allocated for guarantees. “Why are the poor and historically marginalised communities being short-changed to fund vote-bank politics?” he asked.
Government’s weak defence
Urban Development Minister M.B. Patil and PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi have tried to downplay the controversy. In the last session, Social Welfare Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa defended the government’s move by citing beneficiary data. According to him, 52.10 lakh SC women and 21.42 lakh ST women benefit from these schemes, particularly from Grihajyothi, Grihalakshmi, and Shakti.
But critics have dismissed this argument as misleading. “Beneficiary overlap does not justify misappropriation of funds,” said Hemalatha Nayak, MLC. “You can’t use targeted community development funds for general welfare, even if some SC/ST members are incidentally covered. This violates the principle of exclusive allocation and targeted upliftment.”
MLC T.A. Saravana also challenged the government’s data, pointing out that there is no clarity on how many SC/ST women use state-run transport under the Shakti scheme. “The government doesn’t even have basic data but is diverting thousands of crores,” he said.
Dalit voices grow louder
Across the state, Dalit organisations and rights activists have started mobilising to resist the government’s move. Many point out that SC/ST communities still suffer from systemic neglect in education, housing, healthcare, and employment — areas that these funds were originally intended to address.
“Guarantees may be popular, but they are not a substitute for justice,” said a spokesperson from a Dalit rights federation. “For decades, we have fought to secure dedicated funds for our development. This government is systematically dismantling those hard-won gains.”
Council meeting on August 5 to be flashpoint
The issue is expected to dominate the agenda at the upcoming SC/ST Development Council meeting on August 5, to be chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself. A final decision on the reallocation of SCSP-TSP funds is likely to be made at the meeting. However, opposition leaders have already announced they will not allow such a move to go unchallenged.
