Telangana Cabinet endorses Dalit Bandhu

Hyderabad: The State Cabinet, which met for over seven hours on Sunday, endorsed the Dalit Bandhu scheme and announced new scheme for children orphaned due to Covid.

Among the other important decisions include special measures to contain surge in cases in the nine districts where cases have been increasing, waiver of farm loans up to Rs 50,000, reservation for EWS in education and employment and 5-year age relaxation in jobs and a multi-speciality hospital exclusively for the workers in unorganised sector.

The cabinet deliberated on the issues ranging from empowerment of Dalit community under the much-hyped Dalit Bandhu scheme, improving healthcare infrastructures in the districts which are still gripped by the second wave of corona pandemic and to provide relief to the farmers from loan burden.

It has instructed the officials to take up the enumeration of children who lost their parents due to corona and submit a report to the government so that the modalities to implement the scheme can be worked out.

A cabinet sub-committee headed by Women Welfare and Child Development Minister Satyavathi Rathod was constituted to study the functioning of orphanage centres in the State.

The Health officials were instructed to arrange for the supply of medicine, oxygen and bed facilities in the Covid-hit districts. The medical officials have been asked to speed up vaccination as the fear of a third wave of corona pandemic looms large.

The cabinet approved the establishment of seven new medical colleges in the districts and also five super speciality hospitals in Hyderabad and Warangal. The new medical colleges would be opened next year.

Another multi-speciality hospital for workers would also come up at Patancheru. All the super speciality hospitals would be known as TIMS (Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences).

Another major decision taken on Sunday was to waive farm loans up to Rs 50,000 from August 15 this year. This would benefit nearly six lakh farmers, the cabinet felt.

The ministers also discussed the implementation of reservation to EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) communities in education and jobs. Five years of upper age relaxation would be provided to the EWS communities in jobs.