Shabbir Ali: Telangana to begin skill training for SC, ST, BC, minorities soon

Hyderabad: Advisor to the Telangana Government (SC, ST, BC & Minorities) Mohammed Ali Shabbir informed that the State Government would release a training calendar to provide skills development training to the youth belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, and minorities. Shabbir Ali held a high-level review meeting with the top SC and BC Welfare Department officials at Dr BR Ambedkar State Secretariat on Thursday.

One residential school complex costs Rs 25 crores

The officials gave a detailed presentation on various schemes implemented by their departments for the welfare of SCs and BCs. Shabbir Ali urged the officials to study the Central Government schemes and explore ways to secure more funds for the State Government schemes.

The officials of the SC Department informed that 106 residential schools were operating in rented buildings, for the yearly rent is Rs. 52.52 crores. The estimate for constructing one new residential school complex is Rs 25 crores. This can be undertaken in four phases at Rs 6.25 crores in each phase, similar to Tribal Welfare Residential Schools. The estimated budget for constructing 103 residential schools is Rs. 2,575 crores at Rs 25 crores per school/institution.

For the civil works proposed in Phase-I for the construction of 103 residential schools, the total budget proposed to allocate is Rs 643.75 crores at Rs 6.25 crores per school/institution for the FY 2024-25.

‘BRS avoided using Central funds on educational infrastructure’

However, Shabbir Ali mentioned that the previous BRS regime avoided utilising Central funds to develop infrastructure for the education of SCs and other castes.

He stated that Telangana State was entitled to receive Rs 20 crores each for the construction of 97 SC girls’ hostels, and for the boys’ hostels, the contribution can be in the 60:40 ratio. He noted that this significant Central funding was not explored solely to avoid the payment of Rs 4 crores to show the utilisation certificate. “SC, ST, BC, and Minority welfare departments should study all the Central schemes and prepare a list wherein funds can be sought for the State’s schemes,” he said.

Shabbir Ali also expressed concern over the negligible number of beneficiaries in skill development initiatives and courses for competitive exams. He stated that SCs constitute more than 16 per cent of the total population, and the training programmes had not reached more than 10,000 beneficiaries. He directed the officials to increase the number of training camps across Telangana. He emphasised that more SC students should be provided training for competitive exams, especially for Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 exams.

500 acres identified for BC hostels across state

The advisor to the government expressed happiness that within ten days after chief minister Revanth Reddy issued directions, the district collectors were able to identify about 500 acres of land for the construction of BC hostels at 82 places across the State. The officials informed the advisor that the process for identifying land for welfare hostels and residential schools was ongoing and would be completed soon.

‘Only Rs 19.76 crores spent on welfare of Most Backward Classes’

Shabbir Ali expressed concern over the non-spending on various BC welfare schemes. The Most Backward Classes (MBCs) remained the most neglected communities under the previous regime. In the last 6-7 years, only Rs 19.76 crores have been spent on their welfare, that only during elections, although hype was created by allocating an amount of Rs 1,000 crores in the budget. He directed the officials to focus on the welfare of MBCs by introducing more schemes and ensuring their 100 per cent implementation.

The officials informed the advisor that several BC Corporations were not having any welfare schemes or funds. For instance, the Toddy Corporation was only taking care of funeral charges for those who died after falling from toddy trees or giving medical expenses to those injured. There is no scheme for the welfare of toddy-tappers.

Each MLA given Rs 2 crores to upgrade schools

The officials also pointed out various complaints about the bad quality of food in hostels, which should be dealt with immediately.

Shabbir Ali directed the officials of all four departments to conduct a detailed review meeting on the functioning of the residential institutions and hostels. He mentioned that the chief minister has recently allocated an amount of Rs 2 crores to each MLA to upgrade schools and other educational institutions in their constituencies. Therefore, he stated that the officials should prepare proposals for the repairs and renovation of institutions and forward them to the district collectors.

He stated that CM Revanth Reddy has a vision for the empowerment of SC, ST, BC, and minorities, and he has made it clear that there would be no shortage of funds or manpower to implement schemes for their welfare.

Thanking the officials for their inputs, Shabbir Ali said he would prepare a detailed report on the suggestions made by the officials and take them up with the chief minister for final approval. SC Welfare Dept principal secretary N Sridhar, SC Corporation managing director P Karunakar, TSWREIS secretary K Seetha Lakshmi, BC Welfare commissioner Bala Maya Devi, MBC Corporation CEO K Alok Kumar, and other senior officials attended the meeting.