HYDERABAD: The state government’s scheme of distributing three acres of agricultural land to landless Dalits, though being implemented at a steady pace, is learnt to have hit another stumbling block with some district collectors asking for clarity about the age criterion of beneficiaries.
According to the land distribution scheme, landless Dalit families will be given three acres of land by the government and the land will be assigned to women of the families. “It will be ideal if the land is allotted to women aged between 18 and 50 years because they would be heading the families at that age, and would have more years to live. Women aged above 60 years have less life expectancy and, upon death, the land will again go to the men of the family,” said an official involved in the implementation of the scheme.
When asked about this, B Jayaraj, vice- chairman and managing director of Telangana Scheduled Castes Co-operative Finance Corporation Limited, said they were expecting guidelines on age criteria to be issued in a few days.
The government has already released Rs 185 crore for implementation of the scheme, out of which Rs 45 crore has been spent.
“We will be spending more funds based on availability of land. According to the latest data, 3,891 acres of private and government lands were identified for distribution and 1,220 acres has been distributed to 465 beneficiaries in the state,” Jayaraj said. An amount of Rs 1,000 crore was allocated in the budget for this financial year for implementation of the scheme.