Hyderabad: The fish farming, sheep and goat-rearing schemes launched by the state government to encourage caste-based professions to revive the rural economy have hit a roadblock. This is due to the caste wars between various communities involved in these professions.
The government had asked applicants to enroll for the schemes in various caste federations set up for the purpose.
Complaints are pouring in from districts over denial of membership to a few applicants on caste grounds.
The Gangaputra communities is opposing the entry of the Mudiraj community into the fish-readring scheme, while Yadavs are against giving membership to Kurumas for the sheep-rearing programme.
Complaints against federations of demanding up to Rs 10,000 to give membership are on the rise, while the government-prescribed fee is Rs 100.
Incidents of clashes between communities during membership drives have been reported from Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar, Nizamabad, Ranga Reddy, and Medak districts.
There are tens of caste federations registered for fish farming, sheep and goat rearing in every district.
The government’s decision to supply 35 crore fish seedlings to fishermens’ cooperative federations for free, to encourage them to take up fish farming; and distribute 84 lakh sheep to Yadavs/ Kurumas with a 75 per cent subsidy through sheep growers’ federations has led to a huge rush for memberships.
This has resulted in friction between old members in federations and those seeking membership.
The old members are said to be denying membership to applicants for fear that they may not get the benefit due to competition.
The government has said that if there are too many applicants, they will conduct a draw to select beneficiaries.
“This kind of discrimination will not be tolerated. We will blacklist federations which deny membership to new ones. All castes and communities should cooperate with the government for the effective implementation of these schemes, said Mr T, Srinivas Yadav, minister for animal husbandry.
