By IANS,
New Delhi : Benefits of social security schemes related to health, employment and housing are not reaching the socially marginalised people, said an NGO’s audit report released here Wednesday.
“The audit covered 124 gram panchayats. It found a lot of inequity and unequal distribution of social facilities, such schooling, healthcare, drinking water, electricity, agricultural and road connectivity, leaving the backward regions far behind in development,” said N. Paul Divakar, general secretary of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights.
The National Infrastructure Equity Audit, conducted between February-April, involved the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes populations.
The audit, joined by voluntary organisation Social Equity Watch, covered Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan and Bihar.
“The important role of equity issues was missing in the Eleventh Five Year Plan of the government. Concrete steps need to be taken in Twelfth (Five Year) Plan (2012-13 to 2017-18) to bring equity in infrastructure for backward sections,” said N. Kumaran, programme manager at Praxis, an NGO working in the field of human rights.