TRS MLAs, MPs "Eating" Part Of Dalit Bandhu Scheme: Congress

Congress MP & former TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy today alleged that TRS MLAs and their followers had become commission agents for the Dalit Bandhu scheme.

He was addressing mediapersons in his office at Huzurnagar after conducting a meeting with all the Sarpanches of Suryapet district.

During the meeting, the Sarpanches demanded that the beneficiaries of Dalit Bandhu, as also of the proposed Girijan Bandhu scheme, be selected through the Gram Sabhas.

For the uninitiated, Dalit Bandhu is a scheme that provides a one-time capital assistance of Rs 10 lakh per eligible SC family as a 100% grant/subsidy to establish an income-generating scheme.

Reddy alleged that the Dalit Bandhu scheme was benefiting non-dalit TRS functionaries more than the dalits, as the TRS functionaries were collecting huge commissions.

He said that TRS MLAs, MPs, MLCs and other functionaries were allegedly collecting huge commissions to select the beneficiaries.

Consequently, he said, the poor eligible SC families were either being neglected or being forced to pay huge bribes.

The scheme was thus not empowering the poor dalits but making the TRS leaders richer, he alleged.

The MP said that the Gram Panchayats should therefore be actively involved in the identification of the deserving beneficiaries.

He also said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao should seriously look into the allegations about his party leaders and workers collecting commissions through Dalit Bandhu.

Reddy also said that during the meeting the Sarpanches complained of harassment and discrimination by the TRS government.

He said that Sarpanches, MPP Chairmen, ZP Chairmen, municipal councillors and corporators were in general being insulted by the TRS government. They were not being given due respect or funds. The State Government was also not releasing the pending dues of the Gram Panchayats for a long while now, Reddy added, claiming that some dues were pending for the last several years.

The Nalgonda MP also complained about excessive political interference by the TRS leaders in the functioning of the Gram Panchayats. He said that the Gram Panchayats were not allowed to decide many things on their own, and that the TRS MLAs had adopted a dictatorial attitude in their constituencies.

He said that the situation was worse for the Sarpanches belonging to the opposition parties. The Sarpanches of the Congress and other parties were being threatened with removal and other action by the ruling party, he alleged.

Reddy said that the development of villages and rural areas was not possible without empowering the Gram Panchayats. He said that the suppression of the Gram Panchayats and encroachments in their jurisdictions were illegal and a violation of the Gram Panchayat Act. He demanded that the TRS government restore the powers of the Sarpanches and also involve the Gram Panchayats in the implementation of schemes including the Dalit Bandhu.