Bhatti Vikramarka announces Rs 17,169 crore for tribals, new schools, land reforms, and solar schemes.
Nalgonda: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Saturday accused the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government of stalling tribal development by failing to spend Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Sub-Plan funds during its 10-year tenure.
Addressing a Telangana Adivasi Congress workers’ training camp here, Bhatti said the Congress administration is now using “every rupee with precision,” earmarking Rs 17,169 crore for tribal welfare this year and carrying forward Rs 1,296 crore left unspent.
Highlighting the government’s plans, he said a network of Young India Integrated Residential Schools will replace under-funded welfare hostels; diet allowances have been raised 40 per cent and cosmetic allowances 25 per cent. Officials have been told to draw up repair estimates for dilapidated buildings. The state will replace the BRS-era “Dharani” land records portal with the new Bhu Bharati Act, to resolve title disputes faced by cultivators. A sum of Rs 1,000 crore reserved for tribals under the Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme. The Indira Solar Tribal Development Scheme will bring 6.7 lakh forest-fringe acres under cultivation at a cost of Rs 12,500 crore, providing off-grid power to dwellers.
Bhatti said the Congress will also implement the Nallamala Declaration to safeguard tribal rights and has begun leadership training camps to identify local solutions. Recalling earlier Congress measures — such as land titles issued under the 2006 Forest Rights Act — he asserted that “dignity and social equality are achievable only under Congress governance.”
