JOIN USA turf war is on between two government departments on the ownership of flagship central schemes for poverty alleviation and youth employment, even as Karnataka faces its fair share of the humanitarian crisis brought about by the lockdown.
The departments of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) and Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood (SDEL) are engaged in a tug-of-war to control the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).
The matter came up for discussion on Wednesday when RDPR Minister K S Eshwarappa took stock of his department’s programmes.
The NRLM and DDU-GKY are rural development programmes funded by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. But they were put under the Skill Development when this department was newly created in 2016.
“These programmes were hived off to the newly-created Skill Development department with the lofty aim of integrating all skill development programmes. But these programmes are not doing well under the new department and Karnataka is one of the worst performers in the country,” a senior RDPR official said.
According to sources, the Centre repeatedly asked the state government to put NRLM and DDU-GKY under the RDPR department. “We have moved a Cabinet note, but it's stuck as nobody is giving up turf," the official said.
While NRLM is seen as a poverty alleviation scheme that promotes self-employment, DDU-GKY aims to provide skill training to rural youth aged 15-35 years.
The Skill Development department has refuted the claim that these schemes were not doing well. According to data, the NRLM has reached 2.08 lakh and DDU-GKY 1.13 lakh beneficiaries. During the Covid-19 pandemic, SHGs have been funded under NRLM to make 23 lakh masks so far, sources said.