Hyderabad: To foster the socio-economic empowerment of tribals, Chief Minister and BRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao announced that the BRS government would implement a Girijan Bandhu scheme on the lines of the successful Dalit Bandhu initiative. He also assured to sanction 100-150 houses for underprivileged families in each village within two years after coming to power for the third time in the State.
Under the Dalit Bandhu scheme, the State government is providing a one-time grant of Rs 10 lakh to each Dalit family. Accordingly, the Girijan Bandhu scheme will be extended to tribal youth without land and jobs to ensure inclusive development.
During Praja Ashirvada Sabha meetings held in Palakurthy constituency on Tuesday, Chandrashekhar Rao said despite ruling the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh for over 50 years, the Congress had failed to provide basic amenities like drinking water to the people of Telangana. He pointed out that Palakurthy constituency was between Krishna and Godavari Rivers, but did not receive adequate water for irrigation till Telangana State was formed.
“Respecting the demands of the tribals for self-rule, the BRS government upgraded tribal hamlets into gram panchayats. We also enhanced tribal reservations to 10 percent,” he said.
The Chief Minister urged the SC community to deliberate on why none of the previous governments implemented schemes like Dalit Bandhu since independence. He reminded that if the previous governments had implemented such socio-economic empowerment schemes for the weaker sections, the nation would have surpassed many developed countries.
“The Dalits were treated as mere votebanks by the previous Congress governments. We are committed to continue implementing Dalit Bandhu in a phased manner to ensure their socio-economic empowerment,” he said.