All eligible will get Dalit Bandhu sops: CS Somesh Kumar

Karimnagar: Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar along with Principal Secretary, Rahul Bojja and District Collector, RV Karnan addressed a press conference on Saturday and said that the Bandhu scheme would be sanctioned to every eligible family in Telangan, the scheme was being implemented as a pilot project in Huzurabad constituency the Chief Secretary added.

Implementing Dalit Bandhu in Huzurabad constituency would be useful in identifying the problems that could arise in formulating the guidelines to make the Dalit Bandhu scheme more effective in future.

He said financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh would be provided to every eligible Dalit family under the scheme and there was no bank linkage to it. The Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao would formally launch the scheme at Shalapalli in Huzurabad Aug 16.

At the inaugural function, the Chief Minister would hand over the cheques to 15 beneficiaries belonging to poor Dalit families. Beneficiaries were advised to choose and establish a unit of their choice in their experienced and skilled profession.

Village, mandal, constituency and district level committees would be set up to implement the scheme. Selection of beneficiaries would be done transparently by senior special officers, village sarpanchs, MPTCs, public representatives and village councils in the presence of Dalits.

The list of beneficiaries would be displayed on the notice boards of the village panchayat offices. He said the scheme would be extended to the poorest families first and then to all Dalit families.

Rahul Bojja said based on a comprehensive family survey details of 107 villages in the constituency beneficiaries would be selected. A Dalit Rakshana Nidhi, with share from beneficiaries and government, was being set up to support the family members in the event of beneficiaries death.

Finance Minister Tanniru Harish Rao, Welfare Minister Koppula Eshwar, Civil Supplies, BC Welfare Minister Gangula Kamalakar, Zilla Parishad Chairperson K Vijaya, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar held a meeting with Mandal Resource Persons and Mandal Special Officers on Dalit Bandhu on the day.

State SC Corporation Chairman Banda Srinivas, Government Whip Balka Suman, MLAs Sunke Shankar, Aururi Ramesh, Sandra Venkata Viraiah, Collector RV Karnan, CP Satyanarayana, Municipal Commissioner Valluri Kranti were present at the meeting.