Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) on Monday launched the Dalit Bandhu scheme’s pilot project at Shalapalli in Huzurabad constituency.
Out of the 20,000 plus Dalit families, around 2,000 eligible beneficiaries will receive financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each in their bank accounts immediately. The scheme, the first of its kind in the country, envisages coverage for the families of the beneficiaries with their contribution.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao personally distributed the cheques to a few select beneficiaries. “The government is preparing to give financial support through the fund to those who are at risk,” KCR said earlier during his address after unfurling the national flag on the 75th Independence Day on Sunday, August 15.
“These beneficiaries have been identified after considering various factors. As per the recent state cabinet decision, priority has been given to those without any income source and belonging to the poorest of the poor during the selection of beneficiaries. More funds will be released over the next few days as and when more eligible beneficiaries are identified,” a senior official from the SC Development Corporation told Telangana Today.
The Dalit Bandhu scheme comes just on the heels of the Huzurabad by-poll, which is expected to be held in the coming months. The new programme is expected to help the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) gain votes from the SC community in a big way. The by-election has been necessitated after former state health minister and ex-TRS MLA Eatala Rajender was shunted out by KCR over corruption allegations.
Following that, Rajender resigned as an MLA and finally joined the BJP. The Huzurabad by-election is likely to be a three-way contest between the TRS, Congress and the BJP.