It looks like Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is talking through his hat on the implementation of his latest pet programme Dalit Bandhu aimed at doling out financial benefits to the Dalits across the state.
His latest announcement that his government would spend Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh crore on Dalit Bandhu scheme has come as a big surprise to everybody.
When he proposed the scheme in the budget, he made an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for the scheme.
Later, when he held an all-party meeting at Pragati Bhavan to discuss the scheme, he said the government would allocate Rs 1190 crore, at the rate of Rs 10 crore to each assembly constituency.
Now with the by-elections to Huzurabad assembly seat round the corner, KCR announced that in Huzurabad itself, where the scheme would be implemented on a pilot basis, his government would spend Rs 1200 crore in Huzurabad constituency itself.
Now, while conducting an orientation programme for the public representatives from Huzurabad on Monday, KCR declared that his government would spend Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore on the Dalit Bandhu scheme.
He said the scheme, which will be implemented in a phased manner, would be extended to all the eligible persons.
It should emerge as a role model for not only Telangana but also the entire country as an exercise to eradicate social and financial discrimination of Dalits, he said.
KCR stated that the future of the Dalit Bandhu depends upon its success in Huzurabad Assembly constituency and hence, it is important that all the Dalit representatives from the constituency should work with commitment and coordination to ensure its success.
But how his government would mobilise resources to implement the scheme has not been explained.
“At a time when the state budget itself is less than Rs 1.50 lakh crore, how can his government spend Rs 1 lakh crore on Dalit Bandhu scheme alone? He did not specify in how many years would this amount be spent. It cannot be so vague. There should be specific budgetary allocation for the scheme, instead of empty talk,” a Congress leader said.
