HYDERABAD: The state government would spend Rs 1 lakh crore on Dalit Bandhu scheme in the next two years, said finance minister T. Harish Rao.
He said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had directed finance department to sanction Rs 30,000 crore for Dalit Bandhu scheme in the next Budget 2022-23, adding that the government had released Rs 500 crore to Huzurabad on Monday to implement the Dalit Bandhu on a pilot basis.
Besides budgetary allocation of Rs 30,000 crore every year in the next two years, the government will mobilise the balance Rs 70,000 crore per year through SCSDF (scheduled castes special development fund) and loans.
Harish was addressing a meeting in Cheryala in Siddipet district after laying the foundation for construction of Dr BR Ambedkar Community Bhavan at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore on Monday.
He said Chief Minister was aiming to cover at least 10 lakh Dalit families under Dalit Bandhu scheme in the remaining two-and-a-half tenure of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) government by spending Rs 1 lakh crore.
Harish expressed confidence that like Rythu Bandhu, the TRS government would implement Dalit Bandhu successfully to improve the social and economic conditions of Dalits in Telangana. He urged Dalits to effectively utilise Rs 10 lakh granted by the Telangana
government to come out of poverty and achieve financial stability. Harish said the Chief Minister was keen to make Dalit Bandhu a role model for the entire country.
Meanwhile, the state government on Monday issued a GO to release Rs 500 crore to Huzurabad to implement the Dalit Bandhu scheme. The funds are kept at the disposal of Karimnagar district collector.
The government asked the collector to transfer Rs 10 lakh to each Dalit family after obtaining information from applicants on what they intended to do with that amount and what self-employment they wanted to pursue. This benefit will be extended to all Dalit families in Huzurabad on a saturation-basis.
It requires Rs 2,000 crore to cover nearly 20,000 Dalit families in Huzurabad. The balance Rs 1,500 crore will be released in instalments soon.
