KARIMNAGAR: After formally launching the Dalit Bandhu scheme in Huzurabad segment on Monday, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said about Rs 30,000-40,000 crore would be allocated in the State Budget every year for the next three to four years to cover all the SC families in the State under the scheme.
Addressing a gathering in Shalapally village of Huzurabad on Monday, the CM stated that there were 17 lakh SC families which constituted a population of around 70 lakh in the State, Rao said that Rs 1.7 lakh crore was required by the government if Dalit Bandhu was extended to all these SC families in TS.
Rao said Dalit Bandhu was not a scheme but a ‘movement,’ like the separate Telangana movement. He said Dalit Bandhu committees would be constituted from village to State level with one lakh SCs for supervising the implementation of the flagship scheme. Besides, around 25,000 public representatives belonging to SC communities would be involved. “A strong force of 1.25 lakh people will monitor the scheme,” Rao said.
Meanwhile, Rao called upon intellectuals, writers and others from SC communities to cooperate for the successful implementation of the scheme. He said seminars would be conducted with them on the matter.
“When the government sanctioned Rs 11,000 crore for the sheep distribution scheme for Yadavas, the SCs never objected to it. When the government started Rythu Bandhu, SCs never opposed it. They only wanted the government to support them too. Now, all sections of the society should support the Dalit Bandhu scheme to uplift the SCs financially,” the Chief Minister said. He recalled that an SC was made Siddipet market committee chairman some 25 years ago.
As there was criticism from Opposition parties that no SC officer was employed in the CMO, Rao declared in the public meeting that SC Development Department secretary Rahul Bojja would be transferred and would be posted as secretary to the CM.