Chandigarh, January 25: The Aam Aadmi Party government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has failed to carry out any concrete, visible, or result-oriented work under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SC Sub-Plan) during its tenure. Despite making tall claims of being Dalit-friendly, the government has so far not produced a single official report that can establish that the funds spent under the SC Sub-Plan have led to any real improvement in the condition of Dalit settlements.

Paramjit Singh Kainth, Vice-President of the Bharatiya Janata Party Scheduled Caste Morcha, Punjab, stated that 73.33 percent of Punjab’s SC population resides in rural areas. In 14 out of 23 districts of the state, the SC population exceeds 30 percent, and in 4,799 villages this figure is above 40 percent. Even more alarming is the fact that Punjab has 57 villages where 100 percent of the population belongs to the Scheduled Caste community, yet no special or targeted interventions have been undertaken in these areas under the SC Sub-Plan.

The situation in the education sector is extremely serious. The SC literacy rate in Punjab is 64.81 percent, compared to the state’s overall literacy rate of 75.84 percent. Literacy among Scheduled Caste women stands at only 58.39 percent. Participation of SC students in higher education is even lower. Despite this, the Mann government has neither formulated a robust scholarship policy nor established a structured skill development framework.

On the employment front, Kainth said the condition of the Dalit community is deeply concerning. Only 35.88 percent of the SC population is part of the labour force, while a large number remain trapped in agricultural labour or low-wage, insecure jobs. Nearly 59 percent of SC families live in dilapidated housing conditions, reflecting the failure of infrastructure and social development.

He emphasized that the SC Sub-Plan is not a form of charity but a constitutional right of the Scheduled Caste community. Ignoring this right is not merely an administrative failure but an open act of social injustice.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Scheduled Caste Morcha demanded that the Mann government immediately release a white paper on the utilization of SC Sub-Plan funds and implement a transparent, accountable, and outcome-oriented system to ensure the real empowerment of the Dalit community.