Bhopal, May 25: The Minister for Tribal Welfare and Forests Kunwar Vijay Shah has described as baseless the allegations made by the Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Ms Jamuna Devi in a letter to the Chief Minister regarding discrimination against tribals. In fact, three times more funds have been spent on welfare of the people belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the state, he added.

Giving a point wise reply to the allegations made by MsJamuna Devi against the government, Kunwar Vijay Shah said that the teachers and employees of private aided educational institutions had been given the benefit of the fifth pay commission by the school education department from 1996 to 2000. He said that the then state government of her party started the system of block grand since 2000, under which these institutions are being given 50 percent grant for payment of salaries, whereas full grant is being given to the aided institutions of tribal welfare department for payment of salaries to the teachers and employees.

The Minister said that it is far from fact to say that the tribal welfare department has deviated from its path during his tenure as tribal welfare minister. On her allegation that in last two financial years a sum of Rs. 739 crore of tribal welfare and Rs. 501 crore under scheduled caste welfare had been lapsed he informed her that during the then government of her party 29 percent of the budget had lapsed in two years, whereas only 8 percent budget has been lapsed/surrendered in year 2007-08 under tribal welfare and 5 percent under scheduled caste welfare.

Kunwar Shah said that the previous government had made a provision of only Rs. 3400 crore for welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in two years against which the present government has made a provision of RS. 9,700 crore, which is three times more. Similarly, the previous government had spent only Rs. 2400 crore on welfare of scheduled tribes and scheduled castes in two years against which the present government has spent Rs. 8500 crore, which is more than three times.