Parliamentary committee on SC/ST welfare visits Dharamsala, meets employees unions

A 30-member parliamentary committee on the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes came to Dharamsala on a two-day visit to assess and address the issues faced by SC/ST employees and pensioners.

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The visit aimed to gather inputs for framing a comprehensive study report focused on the upliftment and welfare of these communities.

During the visit, the committee held detailed meetings with representatives and officials of the SC/ST Employees Welfare Associations from various government and public sector organizations, including Power Grid Corporation of India, Central University of Himachal Pradesh (Dharamsala), NTPC, BBMB and others.

The discussions centred around the challenges being faced by SC/ST employees in their respective departments, with an emphasis on improving opportunities, working conditions, and access to welfare schemes.

The committee is expected to submit a detailed report based on these consultations to the parliament, which will help frame policies and recommendations for the betterment of SC/ST employees across the country.

The chairman of the parliamentary committee, former Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste, a tribal leader who won seven elections of the Lok Sabha from Madhya Pradesh said the committee was looking into several aspects of welfare of SC/ST employees, particularly, with regard to their appointments, promotions and also post-retirement facilities.

The BJP MP Arun Sagar, a member of the Parliamentary Committee, said they had detailed discussions on various problems being faced by the SC, ST employees and workers. “We will prepare a detailed report based on the inputs being received from the ST, ST employees and recommend ways and means to improve their working conditions,” he said.

Arun Sagar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was working for the people of every religion, every class and every society without any discrimination. Many public welfare schemes have been launched by the PM, including upliftment of SCs and STs from education to jobs, including scholarship, housing, vocational training, loan facility and social security.

The objective of these schemes is to uplift them through education, employment and social development. Scholarships are provided to SC and ST students for higher education, including provision of scholarships for studies abroad for ST students, he said while adding that the scholarships for higher education abroad were provided to ST students under National Foreign Scholarship scheme.

He said the hostel facilities were provided for SC and ST students under Babu Jagjivan Ram Hostel Scheme (BJRCY) while the loan facility was being provided for development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSEs) for SC/ST under Special Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme.

Earlier, at least 17 MPs, both from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha met the Dalai Lama at Mcleodganj on Thursday and sought blessings from the spiritual leader.