The Telangana government on Wednesday, September 1 decided to implement the Dalit Bandhu scheme in four other mandals in addition to Huzurabad constituency where it is currently being implemented on a pilot basis. The government has selected four mandals in four Assembly constituencies that are represented by Dalit MLAs (constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes) in the north, east, west and southern parts of the state.
The selected mandals are Chintakani in Madhira constituency of Khammam district, Tirmalgiri mandal in Tungaturthy constituency of Suryapet district, Charagonda mandal in Achampet constituency of Nagar Kurnool district and Nizamsagar mandal in Jukkal constituency of Kamareddy district. The move is part of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's efforts to understand and comprehend in detail the sentiments, needs of the Dalits and also the intricacies of the scheme, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement. The scheme will be implemented for all Dalit families In these mandals. The Chief Minister, after his visit to New Delhi, would convene a review meeting in Hyderabad with ministers, MLAs and district collectors from these areas.
The government has taken up Dalit Bandhu as a movement. It has already released Rs 2,000 crore for the implementation of the scheme for all Dalit families in Huzurabad constituency. Under Dalit Bandhu, every beneficiary Dalit family will get Rs 10 lakh as grant and they will be free to chose their profession, self-employment or businesses for utilising the funds.
Addressing a public meeting on August 16 in Huzurabad constituency to launch the scheme, KCR had announced that the government will disburse over Rs 2,000 crore to 21,000 Dalit families in Huzurabad in the next two months. He said there will be no selection of beneficiaries in the Huzurabad Assembly segment, as the scheme will be implemented for all the SC families in a saturation mode. He also declared that all the 17 lakh Dalit families in the state will be benefited from the scheme.
The scheme implementation across the state for all Dalit families will cost Rs 1.7 lakh crore. He said the government will allocate Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 40,000 crore in the budget every year for 3 to 4 years.