Chennai:
Ahead of the national elections in 2014, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has taken on the Centre over its highly-ambitious Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme that the latter is counting on a potential vote-getter. The populist programme aims at directly transferring money, meant for social welfare schemes, directly into the accounts of the poor, thus eliminating middlemen. The government has said that scheme will help reduce delay in delivery of benefits besides curbing wastage and leakages.
In a strongly-worded letter to the Prime Minister, Ms Jayalalithaa has alleged that the scheme, in its present form, is an "infringement" on the authority of state governments and goes against the principles of federalism.
"Are the State Governments expected to look on as mere bystanders, far removed from the process of administering the scheme, after having placed their entire field machinery at the disposal of the Government of India?" the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said.
(Read Jayalalithaa's letter to PM)She also expressed strong reservations over the monetisation and disbursement in cash of subsidy for essential commodities like kerosene and cooking gas as well as in the Public Distribution System (PDS). Ms Jayalaithaa also cited the direct transfer of cash to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries would only lead to more confusion and affect accountability. The Chief Minister, instead, asked the Centre to route the desired funds through the state government for faster and efficient rollout of the scheme.
The DBT scheme provides for cash transfer of subsidy from the government directly to the beneficiary through an Aadhar-linked bank account. Three districts of Tamil Nadu are proposed to be included in the rollout of the first phase of the scheme from July 1.
Last year, Ms Jayalalithaa had taken on the government over the setting up of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), accusing it of overstepping on the federal rights of states.