Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday, August 4, decided to begin the flagship ‘Dalita Bandhu’ scheme in Vasalamarri, his adopted village, taking many by surprise. The scheme was officially announced to be launched in poll-bound Huzurabad on August 16. However, that now remains as a mere formality. Dalita Bandhu is a self-empowerment scheme, where eligible Scheduled Caste (SC) people would be given Rs 10 lakh through their bank accounts for self-employment. The decision was taken following the visit of the Chief Minister to Vasalamarri in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district where he spent nearly three hours touring Dalit colonies on foot, interacting with at least 60 Dalit families inquiring of their well-being.
Looking at the poor condition of their houses, which were mostly constructed with mud, the CM assured all the Dalit families that they would be provided with a double-bedroom house. “Today itself, in this hour, all the 76 Dalit families in Vasalamarri will be included in Dalita Bandhu scheme. The money will be in your hands by tomorrow,” KCR said in the meeting. KCR announced that the 76 SC families in the village will be given Rs 10 lakh and the beneficiaries would be free to spend the money the way they want but advised them to use it to create a source of revenue. He assured that even if the Dalit families were beneficiaries of other schemes like Rythu Bandhu etc, they still would be eligible for Dalita Bandhu.
Asking them to come up with good ideas to utilise Dalita Bandhu for their benefit, he, during the interaction, asked the people what they would do with Rs 10 lakh. Some told him that they would set up a dairy farm, some would buy tractors and some would do business. The CM also directed the District Collector Pamela Satpathy to sanction pensions to the eligible individuals.
KCR also visited other colonies, and listened to the problems raised by the poor women and elders and issued orders to the authorities. Many brought to the attention of the CM that their houses were in a low-lying area and frequently inundated due to rain. The CM assured them of the construction of double bedroom houses and asked the Collector to follow the plan and ensure that the roads and drainages of the colonies were in accordance with the plan.
With IANS inputs