Reorganise districts than divide the state

HYDERABAD: The 73rd constitutional amendment came as a big relief for the vast number of oppressed people belonging to the backward and scheduled castes, minorities and the tribes against the backdrop of usurpation of power by powerful intermediary castes under the guise of regional development across the country. Unfortunately for us, the 73rd amendment was left toothless by the same regional vested interests. The amendment envisaged transfer of 27 line departments to the district/local administration. The transfer of line departments is only expected to go accompanied by the transfer of a defined percentage of the state budget in favour of the local administration. One would have ideally expected transfer of no less than 40 percent of the state budget to the local administration.
Let there be no mistaking the point that the two key instrumentalities were withheld from seeing the light of the day and it is deliberate. The host of Central schemes catering to the development of the oppressed were also appropriated by the provincial powers and touted as state schemes. As a result, the 73rd amendment remained just ornamental. The amendment empowered backward castes, scheduled castes, minorities and tribals by the transfer of administrative control in the strict legal sense but was left bereft of the politico-economic muscle. As a result, the amendment remained a dead letter for all practical purposes and the vast new crop of people's representation raised over the last two decades felt let down and benighted.Against the above backdrop, I appeal that the logic of the 73rd amendment be pursued without any further loss of time even at this late hour and to make it effective we strongly feel that we need to correct yet another anomaly waiting to be corrected since the colonial days.