SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: The number of cases registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, has gradually declined in Telangana over the last five years, officials informed Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday, September 22.
They told Reddy that cases under the Act were mainly being registered in certain districts, particularly in 73 villages, and that the police needed to focus on these areas.
Reddy chaired a meeting of the state-level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee on the implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, at the Secretariat, a press release said.
The CM said education, employment and skill development were key to bringing about social change and called for collective efforts to overcome “oppression” against SCs and STs.
The meeting, chaired by the CM, was the first meeting of the committee since the formation of Telangana in 2014, the release said.
The previous meeting chaired by the CM was held on February 11, 2013, in undivided Andhra Pradesh, it said.
Revanth said the government was making sincere efforts for the progress of Dalits, STs and Adivasis.
He reviewed the implementation of the Act, the progress of investigations and trials, financial assistance to victims and rehabilitation measures, among other issues, the release said.
The meeting also discussed the functioning of special courts set up to try cases under the Act, mobile courts and awareness programmes on its provisions, it said.
The CM directed officials to immediately disburse compensation to victims as per the provisions of the Act.
He said the money should be released through a “green channel”, an automatic and fast-track process for immediate approval or clearance, without linking it to budget allocations.
Reddy said the Congress government prioritised Dalits, STs and Adivasis and was giving them due importance in the implementation of every scheme and programme.
He said Congress governments had treated Dalits and STs as their own children and that people still remembered the services of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The government led by him was working with the inspiration of Indira Gandhi, he said.
Reddy said SCs account for about 16 per cent of the state’s population, while they constitute 31 per cent of the beneficiaries of the ‘Indiramma’ housing scheme.
STs account for about 10 per cent of the state’s population, while their share among beneficiaries of the scheme is 17 per cent, he said.
The CM emphasised that education alone could bring about a change in people’s lives, help find a permanent solution to societal inequalities and address oppression.
SOURCE : SIASAT
