Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday advised officials of the Department of Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare to take steps to enhance the educational and economic welfare of the communities at the earliest and without any delay.
While conducting a review meeting of the department, Mr. Stalin advised officials to ensure that welfare schemes for the communities are delivered on time.
The Chief Minister asked officials to make sure that hostels run by the department have basic facilities for students and quality food is provided to them, a press release said.
He directed the authorities to take steps to appoint senior lawyers to argue and defend cases on 69% reservation in Tamil Nadu, when such litigation comes up in the Supreme Court. A separate habitation should also be created for the Narikuravar community, and steps must be taken to enhance their quality of life, he said.
Mr. Stalin instructed the authorities to take necessary action on unregistered Wakf boards, retrieve Wakf properties that have been encroached upon and digitise Wakf property records, among other things. He also asked officials to make adequate arrangements for pilgrims who go on Haj and ensure that financial assistance reaches them on time.
Awards presented
The Chief Minister also presented awards and financial assistance to 21 authors from the Adi Dravidar community for 2018-19 and 2019-20. The awards were given from the corpus fund of the Adi Dravidar Art and Literature Society. Each year, the awards are presented to 10 writers from the Adi Dravidar community and those who converted to Christianity and to one person from a different community.
He presented awards for best works to 11 authors for 2018-19 and 10 for 2019-20. He presented a citation and a cash award of ₹20,000 as a first instalment of a total of ₹40,000 per winner.
