Rs 113 crore spent on welfare of SCs: Panel chief

Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Caste Commission Kuldeep Kumar Dhiman today said that Rs 113 crore had been spent in the past three years by various government departments and agencies for the development and welfare of the Scheduled Castes (SCs). He was presiding over a district-level meeting of the commission.

Statistics regarding the implementation of the Scheduled Caste Development Programme and centrally-sponsored schemes being run for the SCs were discussed. Commission members Vijay Dogra and Digvijay Malhotra, besides Deputy Commissioner Jatin Lal attended the meeting.

Dhiman directed the officials concerned to ensure proper use of the budget approved for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and also ensure that every eligible beneficiary gets the benefit of the schemes.

He added that a relief of Rs 1.38 crore had been disbursed to 277 beneficiaries of the Inter-caste Marriage Scheme in Una district, while loans up to Rs 8.47 crore had been made available for the education of students belonging to Scheduled Castes.

Dhiman said under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, a relief of Rs 58.50 lakh had been disbursed to 127 victims in Una district in the past three years, while a loans totalling Rs 40 lakh were given during the same time period for skill development and self-employment schemes through the Scheduled Caste Development Corporation.

He said the commission would conduct random spot visits across the state to audit the implementation of the schemes. He directed the officers concerned to create public awareness regarding the welfare schemes of the government in various departments for people belonging to the Scheduled Castes.