Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu on Saturday announced that he would take full responsibility for the implementation of SC, ST Sub Plan in letter and spirit. There is no question of going back on it, he asserted.
He was speaking at the valedictory of the training camp for Adivasi and tribal people’s representatives organised at Nagarjuna Sagar on Saturday. He recalled that when he was the Chief Whip, he held a meeting of Congress MLAs on SC, ST Sub Plan and gave a report to the high command and requested them to implement it strictly. Later the SC,ST Sub Plan legislation was approved and passed when he was the Deputy Speaker.
“As a person associated with the legislation right from the initial days, I have complete understanding about the Act. Now as the Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister I have full responsibility to implement the Act,” he said, describing the legislation as a panacea for all the ills.
Bhatti said he had already convened secretaries of all departments and sought reports on implementation of the Sub Plan and allocation of funds as per the Plan. R&B and Panchayat Raj department officials already submitted the reports and reports will be submitted by other departments soon. A comprehensive review meeting will be held soon with all the departments on SC ST Sub plan implementation, he said.
It is the responsibility of the government to give 10 per cent funds under the SC, ST Sub Plan. He asked the ST people’s representatives to convey to the people that the plan was being implemented because of the Indiramma government in the State.
Bhatti said that ITDAs would be revived, necessary budgets be allocated, training be given to the unemployed to enable them to take up self employment. The wealth and resources of the country should belong to various categories of people as per their proportion in the population and not to the corporate powers.
The Deputy Chief Minister alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to weaken the Constitution and to trample on the rights of common people extended by the Constitution.
“If we protect the Constitution, it will in turn protect us. Thus Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took the lead in protecting the Constitution and he has been campaigning across the country under the Samvidhan Sammelan programme. The rank and file of the Congress party too should join him in the endeavour to protect the Constitution,” he said.
Bhatti said the people brought back Indiramma rajyam as they realised they lost their freedom to express their opinions and raise their voice under the TRS rule leave alone fighting for their rights. The Congress government is now sincerely implementing all the assurances given to people in the State.
The poor were not given houses in the last 10 years and the Congress government will spend Rs.22,500 crore to construct houses for 4.5 lakh people in the first phase. The Indiramma houses were being constructed at a cost of Rs 5 lakh each and for SC, STs and additional one lakh was being given to make it Rs.6 lakh for each house construction.
The Congress government for the first time in the country will be implementing the Indiramma Atmeeya Bharosa scheme for the landless poor in the State from January 26. An amount of Rs.12,000 will be deposited into their accounts in two instalments of Rs.6,000 each, said the Deputy Chief Minister .
Under Rytu Bharosa, Rs.12,000 will be deposited into the accounts of farmers for all the cultivable lands. Contrary to the campaign of BRS leaders that the Congress government would scrap Rytu Bharosa, it enhanced the financial assistance from Rs.10,000 to Rs 12,000, he said.
The government will also be giving new ration cards and fine rice. Bhatti said all these schemes were given wide publicity in every village by the Congress party workers. Bhatti alleged that some who have no concern for adivasis who treat land as their life, were trying to deprive tribals of their land.
Tribal leaders like Ramji Gondu, Komuram Bhim and Birsa Munda fought pitched battles for freedom of the country and brave tribals and adivasis did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of the country.
It was the Congress government that brought legislation to protect people’s rights and gave them freedom to question their rights. He said that the PESA Act, Forest Rights Act, MNREGA, SC, ST Sub Plan stand testimony to this.
The responsibility to implement the legislation brought by the Congress government lay with the Congress party’s people’s representatives, he said.
The State government was considering a proposal to generate solar power in the lands given to tribals under the Forest Rights Act and enable them to bring their lands under cultivation through motor pump sets. It alone would make all arrangements for the generation of solar power, he said.
