Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday announced that a minimum of Rs 20,000 crore will be allocated in the next budget for implementation of Telangana Dalit Bandhu scheme, benefiting about 2,000 families in each Assembly constituency. The scheme will be implemented on saturation mode in Huzurabad Assembly constituency and four select mandals of […]
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday announced that a minimum of Rs 20,000 crore will be allocated in the next budget for implementation of Telangana Dalit Bandhu scheme, benefiting about 2,000 families in each Assembly constituency.
The scheme will be implemented on saturation mode in Huzurabad Assembly constituency and four select mandals of four Assembly constituencies apart from 100 families each in the remaining 114 constituencies during the current financial year 2020-21, entailing an expenditure of about Rs 3,000 crore.
“We want the scheme to be implemented in all the constituencies so that all MLAs, District Collectors and other officials get complete understanding of the scheme. Later, it will be scaled up using these experiences to overcome hurdles, if any,” he said. He promised that similar schemes would be introduced for the poor in STs, BCs, minorities and even upper castes in a phased manner. “Telangana Dalit Bandhu is a humble beginning in this direction,” he said.
Replying to a short discussion on Telangana Dalit Bandhu in the State Assembly here, Chandrashekhar Rao said the scheme was not conceptualised overnight and there was lot of brainstorming over its implementation across the State. He said Huzurabad constituency and four mandals in four SC reserved constituencies were chosen only for the pilot project. The grounding of Dalit Bandhu scheme had begun in Huzurabad constituency and the amount for the remaining four mandals selected for the pilot project, would be released within a couple of weeks, he added.
The Chief Minister categorically stated that the Dalit Bandhu amount was a grant and slammed those who were raising objections against subsidies. He pointed out that as per the Statistical Department, the value of paddy produced in Telangana had increased from Rs 12,000 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 50,000 crore in 2020-21 following implementation of Rythu Bandhu scheme. “This investment will provide employment to scores of people and also boost the State’s economy beyond imagination,” he said.
Improved Revenue
The Chief Minister assured that funding will not be a problem for implementation of Dalit Bandhu scheme. Though Telangana lost nearly Rs one lakh crore to the Covid impact, the State revenues had improved considerably. Telangana is number one State in the country with 11.5 per cent revenue growth as per the RBI report, he said, adding that the government earned Rs 2,500 crore through auction of lands recently.
As per estimates by economists, the State government had spent over Rs 10 lakh crore in the last seven years. Similarly, the government was likely to spend another Rs 23 lakh crore in the next seven years as per the changing economic dynamics of the State during a five-year term.
Addressing Apprehensions
Chandrashekhar Rao clarified that the government will not impose restrictions in selection of businesses to be established by the beneficiaries. “They can choose any business in which they have knowledge or experience,” he said.
MLAs will be allowed to select a village or a ward for implementing the scheme where 100 families each will benefit from the scheme. Further, there will be no restrictions on how the beneficiary will utilise the amount. They can have one unit or 10 units within Rs 10 lakh given to them or they can form a group for a bigger business unit. There are also no restrictions for them to set up a business in a specific location or area where they get the sanctioned amount under the scheme. “But they must cooperate with the officials in monitoring his/her progress by regularly reporting the progress,” he said.
The Chief Minister ridiculed the argument that the government will take back the amount deposited into the bank accounts of beneficiaries after Huzurabad bypolls. “If their argument is true, is it the only election in the State? Will we not want to win our next election? Why would we spread lies for the sake of just one Assembly constituency bypoll?” he questioned.
He said Dalit Rakshana Nidhi (Dalit Protection Fund) will be a supporting system for the benefit of the beneficiaries and the funds will be utilised through the monitoring committees, in case of any unforseeable incidents and ensure that the beneficiary families continue to progress. About Rs 4,000 crore will be available in every constituency on an average, after the scheme is implemented across the State.
Infrastructure Development
Responding to the Opposition parties, Chandrashekhar Rao said all the district collectors have been asked to prepare proposals for taking up various infrastructure development projects using funds from SC and ST sub-plans in the respective constituencies. He said Chinthakani mandal will be taken as a model and create cent per cent infrastructure including drains, roads or electric wiring system in a phased manner over next two years.
‘Never promised 3 acres for SCs’
The Chief Minister asserted that he had never promised three acres for SCs, but had only suggested that the limited extent of land distributed in the past was not sufficient for Dalits to progress. “The same was clearly mentioned in the TRS election manifesto.
However, we made an effort in this direction and distributed 16,000 acres to the existing beneficiaries. However, we do not have any more government land with us. There is scarcity of agriculture land in the State,” he added.
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