Hyderabad: Deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Saturday said the Congress govt is likely to allocate at least 10% of the budget for the welfare of tribal communities. Also, the deputy CM said he would take full responsibility for the implementation of the SC, ST sub-plan in letter and spirit.
“There is no question of backtracking on this issue,” he said at the concluding session of the week-long Tribal Empowerment Training Programme held in Nagarjunasagar.
Recalling his padayatra from Adilabad to Khammam before the 2023 assembly polls, where a large number of tribals represented to him their problems, Bhatti assured that the Congress govt was committed to protecting the rights of the tribals over water, forest, and land resources, in tune with the assurances given by Rahul Gandhi.
Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy accused the BRS govt of transforming tribal thandas into grama panchayats without developing necessary infrastructure and civic amenities. Roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy charged the BJP government at the Centre with doing injustice to Adivasis in north India to benefit corporate entities.
The training programme concluded with the participation of 105 Adivasi elected representatives from across the country.
These representatives were divided into eight teams to visit tribal areas in the Nagarjunasagar aAssembly constituency, aiming to assess and improve the living conditions of Scheduled Tribes (STs).
