15 CRORE RUPEES CENTRAL Grant for WAYANAD-MsDP

Programme for the Minority Concentration Districts

Fl .No. 10 (1)/2007-PP-I

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

11^th Floor, Paryavaran Bhavan,

CGO Complex, Lodhi Road,

New Delhi – 110003

Dated 31^st December, 2007

To,

The Principal Secretary/Secretary

Department of Minority Affairs/ dealing with minority welfare

Government of Orissa

Subject: Proposed multi-sectoral development programme for Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs)

Sir,

The Ministry of Minority Affairs is in the process of finalizing a multi-sectoral development programme for the identified 90 Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs) for addressing the ‘development deficits’ identified by a baseline survey which is being carried out by the regional institutes affiliated to the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).

An outline of the proposed multi-sectoral development programme is enclosed. If you have any comments to offer, you may like to send it at the earliest.

Yours faithfully

Sd/-

(Ameising Luikham)

Joint Secretary to the Govt. of India

List of Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs)

Sl.No.	State	District
1	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	Niccobar
2	Arunachal Pradesh	East Kameng
3	Arunachal Pradesh	Lower Subansiri
4	Arunachal Pradesh	Changlang
5	Arunachal Pradesh	Tirap
6	Arunachal Pradesh	Tawang
7	Arunachal Pradesh	West Kameng
8	Arunachal Pradesh	Papum Pare
9	Assam	North Cachar Hills
10	Assam	Kokrajhar
11	Assam	Dhubri
12	Assam	Goapara
13	Assam	Bongaigaon
14	Assam	Barpeta
15	Assam	Darrang
16	Assam	Marigaon
17	Assam	Nagaon
18	Assam	Cachar
19	Assam	Karimganj
20	Assam	Hailakandi
21	Assam	Kamrup
22	Bihar	Araria
23	Bihar	Kishanganj
24	Bihar	Purnia
25	Bihar	Katihar
26	Bihar	Sitamarhi
27	Bihar	Pashchim Champaran
28	Bihar	Darbhanga
29	Delhi	North East
30	Haryana	Gurgaon
31	Haryana	Sirsa
32	Jammu & Kashmir	Leh (Ladakh)
33	Jharkhand	Ranchi
34	Jharkhand	Gumia
35	Jharkhand	Sahibganj
36	Jharkhand	Pakaur
37	Karnataka	Gulbarga
38	Karnataka	Bidar
39	Kerala	Wayanad
40	Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal
41	Maharashtra	Buldana
42	Maharashtra	Washim
43	Maharashtra	Hingoli
44	Maharashtra	Parbhani
45	Manipur	Senapati
46	Manipur	Temengiong
47	Manipur	Churachandpur
48	Manipur	Ukhrul
49	Manipur	Chandel
50	Manipur	Thoubal
51	Meghalaya	West Garo Hills
52	Mizoram	Lawngtlai
53	Mizoram	Mamit
54	Sikkim	North
55	Orissa	Gajapati
56	Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow
57	Uttar Pradesh	Saharanpur
58	Uttar Pradesh	Muzaffarnagar
59	Uttar Pradesh	Meerut
60	Uttar Pradesh	Baghpat
61	Uttar Pradesh	Ghaziabad
62	Uttar Pradesh	Bulandshahar
63	Uttar Pradesh	Budaun
64	Uttar Pradesh	Barabanki
65	Uttar Pradesh	Kheri
66	Uttar Pradesh	Shahjahanpur
67	Uttar Pradesh	Moradabad
68	Uttar Pradesh	Rampur
69	Uttar Pradesh	Jyotiba Phule Nagar
70	Uttar Pradesh	Bareilly
71	Uttar Pradesh	Pilibhit
72	Uttar Pradesh	Bahraich
73	Uttar Pradesh	Shrawasti
74	Uttar Pradesh	Balrampur
75	Uttar Pradesh	Siddharthnagar
76	Uttar Pradesh	Bijnor
77	Uttaranchal	Udham Singh Nagar
78	Uttaranchal	Hardwar
79	West Bengal	Uttar Dinajpur
80	West Bengal	Dakshin Dinajpur
81	West Bengal	Maldah
82	West Bengal	Murshidabad
83	West Bengal	Birbhum
84	West Bengal	Nadia
85	West Bengal	South 24-Parganas
86	West Bengal	Barddhaman
87	West Bengal	Koch Bihar
88	West Bengal	Haora
89	West Bengal	North 24-Parganas
90	West Bengal	Kolkata

Brief outline of the proposed Multi-Sectoral District Development

Programme for Minority Concentration Districts

(The proposed programme is under consideration for approval)

• 1. Background
• 90 Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs) having a substantial minority population, which are relatively backward and falling behind the national average in terms of socio-economic and basic amenities indicators, have been identified based on population figures and the backwardness parameters of 2001 Census.
• 1.2. A baseline survey has been assigned to the Indian Institute of Social Science Research, New Delhi to identify the ‘development deficits’ of these districts. The survey is being carried out by the research institutes affiliated with the ICSSR.
• 1.3. The focus of this programme will be on rural and semi-rural areas of the identified 90 minority concentration districts. The urban centres falling in the MCDs is expected to be addressed by a separate approach and strategy for towns. The lists of these districts are in Annexure-I.
• 1.4. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) who have been notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c ) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
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• 2. Multi-Sectoral development Programme (MsDP)
• 2.1. The proposed Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) for Minority Concentration Districts is an area development programme. There are other such programmes of the Centre like RSVY/BRGF and BADP, but they do not specifically target minorities who are one of the marginalized sections of the society. Two committees, one at the district level and the other at state level, would be responsible for eliminating duplication.
• 2.2. The programme aims at improving the socio-economic parameters of basic amenities for reducing imbalances in the MCDs during the Eleventh Five Year Plan period.
• 2.3. ‘Development deficits’ identified by a baseline survey would be made up through a district specific plan for provision of better infrastructure for school and secondary education, sanitation, pucca housing, drinking water and electricity supply, besides beneficiary oriented schemes for creating income generating activities, to bring these districts at par with the national average. Absolutely critical infrastructure, linkages like connecting roads, basic health infrastructure, ICDS centres, skill development and marketing facilities required for improving living conditions and income generating activities and catalyzing the growth process would be eligible for inclusion in the plan. The multi-sectoral district development plan of a district have to be prepared in such a manner that these districts are saturated with schemes included in the Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities within the Eleventh Plan period.
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• 3. Multi-sectoral Development Plan (MsD Plan)
• A multi-sectoral Development Plan shall be worked out for each minority concentration districts by the District Level Committee concerned based on the baseline survey report.
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• (a) The District Level Committee for implementation of the Prime Minister’s 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities, shall also serve as the committee for implementation of this programme. It shall prepare a MsD Plan with a district profile bringing out the development deficits identified by the survey, indicate the strategy for addressing the deficits, propose projects/work to fill the ‘development deficits’ either by topping up the funds of ongoing schemes/programmes of the Central Government or propose projects which are not catered to by existing schemes/programmes of the Central and State Governments and indicate the year-wise financial and physical phasing for implementation during Eleventh Five year Plan period.
• (b) The filtering mechanism of the District Level Committee should ensure that there is no duplication with other public-funded schemes with similar objectives being implemented in the targeted districts.
• (c) It should be ensured that the funds provided for the MCDs are additional resources for these districts do not substitute State Government funds already flowing to the districts. To prevent diversion of funds from MCDs, the flow of funds to the district concerned in the previous year will be taken as benchmark.
• (d) The programme will be implanted by the line departments/agencies assigned projects by the Department in the State/UT dealing with minority affairs/welfare. Panchayati Raj Institutions/urban local bodies would be involved in the implementation of the MsD Plan wherever the mechanism is established. The State may, however, decide to execute the project through any qualified, reputed, experienced agency, including renowned and widely accepted NGOs, justification for which should be mentioned in the proposal.
• (e) Creation of new posts under this programme is strictly prohibited. It would be the responsibility of the State Government/UT administration to ensure that staff required for operationalisation of assets proposed to be created under this programme is already available or will be provided by them.
• (f) There would be no change in guidelines of any existing scheme under implementation in the said district for which this scheme will provide additional funds. As far as possible, the focus of the programme will be on providing appropriate social and economic infrastructure rather than targeting individual beneficiaries. In case schemes for individual benefits are taken up under the programme, there will be no divergence from existing norms for selection of beneficiaries from the list of BPL families in the district, so that benefits from the additional funds flow to all BPL families and not selectively to families of minority community.
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• 4. Detailed Project Reports (DPR):
• (a) DPR is to be prepared only for physical infrastructure project with an estimated project cost exceeding Rs. 10.00 crore, which has been accepted in principle by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. This will not apply to topping up of funds for ongoing central schemes required for saturating the target/gap in the district.
• (b) DPRs shall be prepared by the line department concerned of the State/UT or through the agency which will be executing the project.
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• 5. State and District Level Committees
• The State Level Committee and the District Level Committee constituted for implementation of the Prime Minister’s New 1 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities District Level Committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary and the Deputy Commission/Collector respectively shall serve as such committees for this programme. The district committee shall prepare the development plan for MCD. Both the district and state committees shall ensure that there is no duplication of schemes, funds are not diverted, the level of funding is not lesser than that of the previous year, funds of this programme is an additionality and monitor the implementation of the plan.
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• 6. Empowered Committee in the Ministry of Minority Affairs
• A ‘MsDP Empowered Committee’ in the Ministry of Minority Affairs will appraise, recommend and approve the projects in the MsD Plans.
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• 7. Release of Funds
• Financial assistance will be sanctioned to the State Government/UT administration concerned on 100% grant basis in suitable installments linked with the satisfactory progress made as per the sanction, approved Multi-sectoral Development Plan and DPR. Funds under the programme would be released to the States/UTs only against the approved district development plans, which would be prepared based on the ‘development deficits’ indicated by the baseline survey of the district. Once the proposal is approved for support by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the first installment will be released. The release will be subject to a commitment from the State Government/UT administration that they will do the following:-
• (a) Constitute the State Level Committee for implementation of the 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities, if not already done.
• (b) Constitute the District Level Committee for implementation of the 15 Point Programme for the Welfare of Minorities, if not already done.
• (c) Notify a department in the State/UT to deal with clear responsibilities for schemes of minority welfare.
• (d) Set up a cell in that department exclusively to look after the implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of this programme. This cell will be IT enabled.
• (e) Ensure that the funds provided for the MCDs are additional resources for these districts do not substitute State Government funds already flowing to the districts. To prevent diversion of funds from MCDs the flow of funds to the district concerned in the previous year will be taken as a benchmark.
• (f) Agree to provide the State share in such central schemes/programmes which are being topped up to saturate the requirement in the district.
• (g) Agree to operate and maintain the physical assets created under this programme.
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• (ii) The first installment would not exceed 30% of the approved plan cost unless there are special circumstances and the Empowered Committee is satisfied, but in no case can it exceed 50% of the total approval.
• (iii) Release of funds for ongoing projects, i.e., the second and subsequent installments will depend on the progress-both in financial and physical terms- of the implementation of the project subject to 60% utilization of funds of last release and full utilization of all prior releases, if any.
• (iv) Request for release of subsequent installments of funds submitted by the State must be accompanied with:
• · Utilization Certificates (UCs)
• · Quarterly Progress Reports (QPRs)
• · Photographs of the works completed from earlier releases
• · Work plan for the requisitioned amount with milestones and time frame
• (v) UCs shall be submitted in the prescribed proforma only when the expenditure on the project has been incurred by the implementing agency. Secretary of the Department in the State Government dealing with minority affairs should sign the UC.
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• 8. Administrative cost:
• An administrative cost of 2.00% percent of the programme cost would be kept aside for setting up a cell and for purchase of office equipment like computers, telephone/fax/internet lines, engaging qualified skilled personnel to enter data, process, analyse, monitor, retrieve and transfer data in the district, State and the Ministry.
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• This provision will also be used for evaluation and monitoring of the scheme, through outside reputed institutions/agencies engaged by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India or by the State Governments/Union Territory administration.