Pattas to be given to tribals soon: Satyavathi Rathod

Tribal Welfare minister Satyavathi Rathod said pattas would be given to tribals who till forest lands soon

Adilabad: Tribal Welfare minister Satyavathi Rathod said pattas would be given to tribals who till forest lands soon. She along with Forests Minister A Indrakaran Reddy visited the Nagoba Temple and offered special prayers at Keslapur village in Indervelli mandal on Tuesday.

Rathod said documents of ownership would be handed over to tribals who cultivate crops in forest lands as promised in the past.

She said the State government had introduced 10 percent of reservations to tribals in education and government jobs considering their population. She added that internal roads, dumping yards and crematoriums were being created in tribal habitations.

The Minister also said a slew of steps were being taken to develop the temple on various fronts. Stating that it was laudable that members of Mesram clan raised Rs.5 crore by way of contributions, she said Rs 12.5 crore was granted to convert the holy place as a tourist spot and to take up other developmental works. The endowment department sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the shrine, she added.

Indrakaran Reddy said the Utnoor Area Hospital would be converted into a 100-bedded facility soon. The State government was providing Rs 20 lakh to tribal students who pursue higher education abroad, he said, adding that three-phase electricity was being supplied to tribal villages at a cost of Rs 321 crore.

MLAs Ajmeera Rekha Naik, Rathod Bapu Rao, MLCs Dande Vittal and Raghottam Reddy, Zilla Parishad chairperson Rathod Janardhan and Kova Laxmi, Collector Sikta Patnaik, Superintendent of Police Uday Kumar Reddy, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA)-Utnoor project officer K Varun Reddy, additional collector Rizwan Shaik Basha, member Women’s commission Eshwari Bai, DCCB chairman Addi Bhoja Reddy and many others were present.