Revanth Reddy stressed that education was the key to transforming the lives of marginalised communities and said their problems could not be permanently addressed unless they had access to quality education. He appealed to SC and ST communities to encourage their children to pursue education as well as sports. — DC Image

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday directed officials to release compensation to victims of sexual assault belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities through a special “green channel” mechanism. He said the government must respond to such cases on humanitarian grounds and ensure that financial assistance reaches victims without delay.

The Chief Minister gave the directions at a meeting of the state-level vigilance and monitoring committee on the implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. This was stated to be perhaps the first such meeting since the formation of Telangana state in 2014. The last meeting was conducted in combined Andha Pradesh in 2013.

The meeting reviewed the implementation of the SC/ST (POA) Act, cases registered, progress of investigations, trial proceedings, disposal of cases and the assistance and rehabilitation extended to victims so far. Revanth Reddy instructed officials, including Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju and DGP C.V. Anand, to ensure that victims, particularly those subjected to sexual assault, were provided timely support and compensation.

The Chief Minister said the government was dealing with incidents of sexual assault involving members of the SC and ST communities with a humanitarian approach. He also highlighted various welfare and development programmes being implemented for the socio-economic uplift of Dalits and tribal communities, including the provision of fine rice and nutritious food.

Revanth Reddy stressed that education was the key to transforming the lives of marginalised communities and said their problems could not be permanently addressed unless they had access to quality education. He appealed to SC and ST communities to encourage their children to pursue education as well as sports. Revanth Reddy said the government was drawing inspiration from the vision of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and was allocating benefits in proportion to population demographics.

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He said SCs accounted for 31 per cent of the beneficiaries of Indiramma houses, while 17 per cent of the houses sanctioned under the scheme had gone to ST beneficiaries. He said the government was also providing breakfast to 27.5 lakh students across Telangana, covering children from nursery to Class XII, as part of its efforts to improve nutrition and support education.

Recalling Indira Gandhi’s contribution to the welfare of marginalised communities, the Chief Minister said she had distributed assigned land titles covering 25 lakh acres to SC and ST families, who regarded her as their “Indiramma” or beloved mother.

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Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, minister Adluri Laxman Kumar, government adviser Shabbir Ali, MPs Mallu Ravi, Balaram Naik and Dr Kadiyam Kavya, and MLAs Thota Laxmikantha Rao, Medipalli Satyam, Kavvampalli Satyanarayana, Vemula Veeresham, Mandula Samuel, Matta Ragamayi, Vedma Bojju and Murali Naik attended the meeting as also MLC Gorati Venkanna and chairpersons and members of the SC and ST Commissions.

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