Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Wednesday announced the launch of the CM Dalit Empowerment Scheme for the upliftment and development of Dalits.
Mr Rao, while addressing a public meeting at Halia, said that Rs 1,000 crore would be sanctioned for this scheme in the upcoming state budget 2021-22.
“It is an irony that Dalits continue to lag behind in all sectors, even after the country attained Independence more than seven decades ago. Any country or society progresses only if all sections progress. The development should be inclusive. To empower Dalits in Telangana, I have decided to launch a new scheme in the upcoming budget. This scheme will be named after the Chief Minister. I will personally monitor its implementation and ensure the benefits of the scheme reach every Dalit across the state. We will sanction Rs 1,000 crore for this scheme,” he said.
Blaming the Congress party for the backwardness of Nalgonda district, Rao said if his government takes up projects, the opposition parties level allegations that there are kickbacks. He sought to know whether the Nagarjuna Sagar project, which was constructed during the Congress regime, was taken up for kickbacks.
Rao also announced a monetary aid of Rs 186 crore to strengthen municipalities and local bodies in the erstwhile Nalgonda district. He also announced that the state government would soon invite applications for new Aasara pensions as well as new ration cards across the state.
He announced Rs 20 lakh each for 844 gram panchayats in the district from the Chief Minister’s Special Fund. He also announced Rs 30 lakh each for every mandal headquarters, besides Rs 10 crore for the Nalgonda Municipality, Rs 5 crore for Miryalaguda municipality and Rs 1 crore each for the remaining six municipalities in the district for their development.
The Chief Minister vowed to end water woes of Nalgonda district forever by pumping water from Paleru reservoir under the Sitarama lift irrigation scheme in Khammam district to the Devulapally balancing reservoir in Nalgonda district.
He said that estimates had been prepared to take up the project at a cost of Rs 600 crore to pump water from the Godavari River to Krishna River, which has unreliable water flow during some years.
“As promised by me during the statehood movement, I laid the foundation stone for 13 lift irrigation schemes, which will be completed in the next one and half years, failing which, I will not seek votes in the next Assembly elections,” he said.
