Khammam: After pressure from BRS, State govt initiates process for Dalit Bandhu fund disbursal

It might be noted that the previous BRS government had sanctioned units under the scheme on saturation mode in Chintakani mandal in the district benefitting 3462 beneficiaries in the mandal.

Khammam: With BRS working president KT Rama Rao and BRS legislators demanding the release of pending amounts for units grounded under Dalit Bandhu in the State, an administrative process in that direction has been initiated in the district.

It might be noted that the previous BRS government had sanctioned units under the scheme on saturation mode in Chintakani mandal in the district benefitting 3462 beneficiaries in the mandal. Of the 3462 beneficiaries, 1888 beneficiaries were given 100 percent benefit, while remaining 1574 persons were sanctioned units spending a part of Rs.10 lakh to ground the units with unspent funds remaining in their accounts.

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It was said that after Congress came to power, officials were directed not to release the pending Dalit Bandhu funds without consent from the government and the bank accounts of the beneficiaries were reportedly frozen. There was no progress regarding the matter for the past several months. With the BRS leadership highlighting the issue, the State government has finally looked into the matter. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka held a meeting at Chintakani on Saturday to review the status of scheme’s implementation in the mandal.

According to district Collector Muzammil Khan, after the funds were spent on the grounded units, an amount of Rs.28 crore was in beneficiaries’ accounts and Rs.2 crore was in the account of district animal husbandry officer for the purpose of purchasing buffalo and sheep units. Bhatti Vikramarka directed officials to check the current status of the grounded units, whether the beneficiaries operating the units or not and what the beneficiaries intend to do with the pending funds. The beneficiaries have an option to buy the unit related material or get another unit sanctioned.

He said the funds for the second phase would be released within a week to the beneficiaries who have successfully completed the first phase. Transferring or selling of units would not be tolerated, he warned. Bhatti Vikramarka further stated that if the beneficiaries come forward to set up small scale industrial units with the pending funds, an industrial park would be sanctioned if necessary.