Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao put up a spirited defence for the implementation of the Dalit Bandhu scheme in the State pointing out that one of the major elements in the statehood movement was the discrimination shown against the people of Telangana region in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. “Having fought against the discrimination, we must ensure empowerment of Dalits who have been facing discrimination for several centuries. It is our responsibility to ensure the scheme’s success,” he said.
Stating that Dalit Bandhu was not just a simple scheme where you give them Rs 10 lakh and “then dust your hands off”, Chandrashekhar Rao, speaking on the resolution on Dalit Bandhu at the TRS plenary session, said many people had made efforts to empower the Dalits in the past. As the then sarpanch in his native village, Jadcherla MLA C Laxma Reddy distributed 10 acre land which is currently worth Rs 50 lakh, he said, citing an example. “Successive governments in undivided AP also took up certain programmes for upliftment of Dalits, but could not achieve the desired results,” he said.
The TRS government, he said, will not only give Rs 10 lakh to each Dalit family, but will also provide them reservations in licences pertaining to medical, liquor, fertilizer and other businesses where the government is required to issue licences. “We are also setting up the Dalit Protection Fund which will come to the rescue of the beneficiaries and ensure that his or her efforts do not go in vain,” he said.
Vikarabad MLA Dr Methuku Anand, proposing the resolution, said the State government would provide a separate card embedded with a chip to the beneficiaries of the scheme to monitor the results of Dalit Bandhu.
The government, he said, was implementing the scheme with commitment, and expressed confidence that it would emerge as a model for the country for transforming Dalits into entrepreneurs and businesspersons. “The party is happy that the scheme is being widely discussed among Dalit families in the State,” he said.
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