With an aim to provide economic empowerment to the SCs and STs, the State government was implementing many schemes for their welfare by spending a whopping Rs 30,000 crore, SC & ST Welfare Minister G Jagadish Reddy today informed the Assembly.
The minister said as many as 33 welfare schemes for the cause of these deprived sections are being implemented across the State ever since the TRS came to power. “Unless we wipe out misery and poverty among these classes, we cannot expect government to develop the State”, he stated during a short discussion on the SC and ST Sub Plans in the House.
He took potshots at the previous governments for using them as vote bank and neglecting their welfare for over seven decades. The Congress and TDP regimes ruled for long though, the Dalits, STs are still lagging behind in education, social, politics and other sectors, he fumed. Towards self-employment through economic support scheme Rs 380 crore subsidy was given besides increasing the amount manifold, he said.
While it was 60 per cent subsidy for Rs 1 lakh, the cap was raised to Rs 5 lakh now by implementing the scheme and benefited 32,041 SCs and 14,732 STs. Telangana artistes have played a key role in statehood movement and the TRS Government honored them by giving 550 posts in Sanskritika Sarathi, including 319 for SCs and 38 STs and the rest others, he pointed out.
“To keep the promise, we have so far distributed three acres of fertile land each to 3,671 beneficiaries. As many as 150 Gurukul Schools for SCs and 50 Gurukul Schools for ST category with English medium were started besides strengthening the government-run-schools and institutions. Though the previous governments ignored the plight of the SCs and STs for foreign studies, the TRS Government has increased funds to Rs 20 lakh from the existing Rs 6 lakh, he said.
Through Kalyana Lakshmi, so far 51,288 SC girls and 28,839 ST girls have been benefited. Listing out welfare schemes, he said pensions being offered to disabled, old age, physically challenged and ration cards to the eligible, he said. (NSS)