Every eligible family will get Dalit Bandhu benefit: Telangana CS

"Starting with the poorest of the poor, every eligible Dalit family in the State would be covered under the scheme in a phased manner," informed the Chief Secretary

Karimnagar:  Allaying the doubts being expressed over implementation of Telangana Dalit Bandhu, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar made it clear that each and every eligible Dalit family would be provided benefit under Dalit Bandhu scheme, which is going to be implemented in Huzurabad constituency on pilot basis. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will launch the scheme on August 16 and distribute certificates to 15 beneficiaries.

Addressing the mediapersons at the District Collectorate here on Saturday, the Chief Secretary said doubts were being expressed over inclusion of names in the scheme and extent of the Dalit families benefiting from the same. “No need to worry about inclusion of their names in the list since the scheme is going to be implemented in a saturation mode. Starting with the poorest of the poor, every eligible Dalit family in the State would be covered under the scheme in a phased manner,” he assured.

Selection of beneficiaries

List of beneficiaries would be finalised in a transparent manner by announcing the names in wards and grama sabhas. Special officers, village Sarpanch, Dalit Bandhu coordinator and other public representatives would take part in grama sabhas to confirm the name of the beneficiary, Somesh Kumar said. Terming the scheme as prestigious and ambitious, he said Rs 10 lakh would be provided to each eligible family without any bank linkage and the amount would be directly deposited in the bank accounts of beneficiaries.

Based on their interest and previous experience, beneficiaries could freely choose the fields for their livelihood. If they fail to come to a conclusion, special officers and public representatives would guide them in selecting a business or occupation that would ensure their success. Village, mandal, constituency, district and state level committees have been constituted to monitor the scheme. Committees would help the beneficiaries. There was a possibility to add more guidelines and procedures since it is going to be implemented on a pilot basis, he informed.

SC Development Secretary Rahul Bojja said the State government has the list of some eligible Dalits collected as part of Samagra Kutumba Survey (SKS). They were examining the possibility of including more beneficiaries to the list, if any family has been missed. The district-level officials would visit each and every Dalit house to cross check the details of families with SKS data available with them. If any genuine eligible family was not found in the list, officials would immediately include those families.

Names of beneficiaries would be finalised by organising ward and grama sabhas. Special officers, Dalit Bandhu coordinators, Sarpanches and public representatives would finalise the list by discussing problems if any. The list would also be displayed in the gram panchayat office. Later, it would be submitted to the District Collector, who would approve the list.

Choice of business or occupation

Special teams would discuss with each and every family about their priority schemes and previous experience to start their choice of business or occupation. Each business or occupation would be established only after developing enough knowledge about that particular business or occupation among beneficiaries. The officials will monitor the progress of the beneficiary by handholding them for at least two-three years, before handing over the complete operations to the beneficiary.

Dalit Raksha Nidhi

The State government has also decided to establish Dalit Raksha Nidhi to help the families if any untoward incidents happen. This Nidhi would be developed with both beneficiary and government contribution. Beneficiaries would monitor the Nidhi, he informed.

Earlier, the Chief Secretary participated in the review meeting organised by Finance Minister T Harish Rao to discuss about the implementation of Dalit Bandhu scheme at collectroate conference hall. BC welfare Minister Gangula Kamalakar, SC Development Secretary Rahul Bojja and others attended the meeting.

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