Dalit families of Vasalamarri village in Alair Assembly constituency in the district, not of Huzurabad as has been decided earlier, will be the first beneficiaries of Dalit Bandhu Scheme, the government’s flagship programme to empower eligible Dalit families through direct benefit transfer of ₹10 lakh.
“All the Dalit families in Vasalamarri will get ₹10 lakh starting Thursday. Programme launch in Huzurabad on August 16 will only be a formality,” senior officials quoted Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao as saying. An official statement was released later in the evening.
Vasalamarri of Thurkapally mandal, KCR’s adopted village, would be the first village in the State in which all the Dalit families would be extended the DBS benefit, and it would also be completed in a single phase.
The announcement, officials who were part of the programme said, came at the village’s Rythu Vedika, where Mr. Rao, along with District Collector Pamela Satpathy, and Alair legislator and Government whip G. Sunitha, addressed 130 persons from the 76 Dalit families in an exclusive interaction. Vasalamarri has a Dalit population of 220, including children, youth and senior citizens.
Wednesday’s programme, unlike that of June 22, which caught an interactive Mr. Rao at the village’s ‘sahapankthi bhojanam’ and the mega grama sabha on press cameras, was not open to media persons.
Officials said the whole programme, between 12.30 p.m. and 6 p.m., was centered on Dalit Bandhu, except for the inspection of other wards in the village and considerations about better housing for all, land availability for distribution in the village, agriculture and well-being.
It was also added that a GO would be released on Thursday to effect the transfer of Dalit Bandhu proceeds to the accounts of the district administration, for further transfer to the 76 families.
‘Dalit Rakshana Nidhi’
Of the ₹10 lakh, officials said, quoting Mr. Rao’d statements, ₹10,000 would be obligated by the government towards ‘Dalit Rakshana Nidhi’, a pooled fund to address health and other contingencies. The Dalit Rakshana Nidhi would be monitored by village, mandal and district committees.
