Hyderabad: It has been eight years since the formation of Telangana and the SC, ST and BC communities are benefiting from the government schemes, but there are no signs of ‘achhe din’ for minorities till date. At the time of formation, it was claimed that the new state guarantees welfare and prosperity of all classes.
The TRS government had announced the issuance of direct loans without any bank linkage to improve the economic condition of poor minority families so that the youths can start small businesses and support their families.
Three significant schemes of the Minority Finance Corporation announced to make poor families self-sufficient have been stalled for the last few years due to lack of attention of the government. Apart from financial assistance, by providing autorickshaw and car, actions on related schemes are far from known.
Every year in the budget the government announces that apart from the financial assistance scheme through the Minority Finance Corporation, ‘Own Your Auto’ and ‘Own Your Car’ schemes will be implemented, but the budget for these schemes have not been released until the end of the financial year.
The government shows sympathy for Dalits and tribals, as these two classes are known as the vote bank and parties compete to earn their support for success. The government have launched the ‘Dalit Bandhu Scheme’, under which poor Dalit families are being provided with an assistance of Rs 10 lakh. Similarly preparation for the Garijan Bandhu scheme for tribals have started in view of upcoming general elections. Under this scheme, vehicles and agricultural implements are provided to the beneficiaries and in Karimnagar district alone, 769 vehicles were provided in a single day.
At the state level, the data of vehicles provided to the poor in the SC, ST category is kept secret. Own Your Car Scheme is being implemented by SC, ST and Christian Corporations like Minority Finance Corporation.
During the year 2015-16 and 2018-19, the Own Your Auto scheme was implemented and 1744 auto rickshaws were given to beneficiaries by spending Rs.12.74 crore. However, for the last 3 years, Own Your Auto Scheme has not been implemented, for which poor minority candidates are running from pillar to post around the corporation.
Under the Driver Empowerment programme, cars were handed over to minority candidates in 2020-21. A total of 690 cars were handed over under the self-employment scheme in 3 years at a cost of Rs.31 crores. 342 vehicles were handed over in 2018-19, 67 in 2019-20 and 281 in 2020-21. Similarly, 652 auto-rickshaws were handed over in 2015-16, 1064 in 2016-17, 25 in 2017-18 and only 3 autos were given in 2018-19.
Officials of the Minority Finance Corporation believe that the auto and car scheme is stalled due to non-timely execution of the budget. Officials try to exonerate themselves by giving various excuses, but the reality is that the attitude of the government towards the minorities is discriminatory and they are not being treated with justice.
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