Dalit Bandhu to cover 2 lakh families: KCR

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday revealed the State government’s plans on various aspects of the ambitious Telangana Dalit Bandhu scheme, stating that the intention was to have adequate budgetary allocation in the next budget. Next year alone, at least two lakh Dalit families would be covered under the scheme that aims at […]

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday revealed the State government’s plans on various aspects of the ambitious Telangana Dalit Bandhu scheme, stating that the intention was to have adequate budgetary allocation in the next budget. Next year alone, at least two lakh Dalit families would be covered under the scheme that aims at economic empowerment of Dalits in a welfare exercise that has not been thought of or implemented anywhere in the country, he said.

Declaring that the scheme will be implemented in saturation mode in the four mandals already selected for implementation as a pilot project, he assured that the entire funds required for implementation in these four mandals will be released in a phased manner over the next two-three weeks, just as the government had done in the case of Huzurabad Assembly constituency and Vasalamarri village where the scheme was being implemented as a pilot project.

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“The Dalit Bandhu scheme is an innovative concept that has not been thought of or implemented anywhere in the country before. We are the creators and executioners of this project. The success of the scheme will pave the way for the upliftment of Dalits across the country. Hence, the scheme should be implemented in a meticulous manner and with a humane approach,” the Chief Minister said, speaking at a high-level preparatory meeting at Pragati Bhavan here to discuss implementation of Dalit Bandhu in the four mandals. The meeting was attended by Ministers, MPs, MLCs, MLAs, Zilla Parishad chairpersons and officials representing these mandals.

Chintakani mandal in Madhira Assembly constituency (east), Tirumalagiri mandal in Thungathurthy constituency (north), Charagonda mandal in Atchampet-Kalwakurthy constituencies (south) and Nizam Sagar mandal in Jukkal constituency (west) are the four mandals selected for implementation of the pilot project of the scheme in the State. The scheme is already under implementation in Vasalamarri village adopted by the Chief Minister and Huzurabad constituency where the scheme was launched formally by the Chief Minister last month.

He made it clear that the State government was not ignoring any community and was implementing several welfare programmes for the poor and the under-privileged from all sections of society in a phased manner. He cited the implementation of Rythu Bandhu scheme for all farmers irrespective of their caste or religion as an example. “No Dalit objected when other schemes including Rythu Bandhu were implemented. They had only wanted similar schemes to be implemented for them as well. All the other communities should now cooperate in a similar manner in the implementation of Dalit Bandhu scheme,” the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister pointed out that Dalit Bandhu was being implemented as a pilot project with village, mandal and Assembly constituency as separate units to conduct in-depth study and plug any loopholes for its effective implementation across the State. “This is not a routine affair. It is a programme that was not envisaged by any government at the State and national level in the past,” he said. He asserted that success can’t be achieved overnight and said the scheme would be implemented across the State by allocating and releasing funds in phases.

Chandrashekhar Rao asked the officials to work with a parental approach to ensure the success of Dalit Bandhu scheme. He instructed them to deal with the beneficiaries in the same way parents deal with their children instead of dealing with authority, and instill confidence among the Dalit community. He also asked them to involve the literate youth from the Dalit community in the implementation of the scheme. The government will implement reservations for eligible Dalit beneficiaries in allocation of government licences and contracts among others, he said.

The Chief Minister said the scheme was being implemented with the specific purpose of socio-economic development of Dalits, and to transform them into a successful business community as well as put an end to discrimination that they had faced for generations.

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