The Hindu : Slew of concessions for SCs, STs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 14, 2003

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Other States - Madhya Pradesh

Slew of concessions for SCs, STs

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL JAN. 13. The entire profit that gets generated by the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department through the logging of teak and other timber in the State's forests would now be distributed among village-level forest committees and forest workers.

The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, made this announcement here today offering wide-ranging benefits and concessions to those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

The Madhya Pradesh Government has thus taken the first major step towards implementing its "Dalit agenda'' that originated in the Bhopal Conference organised here on January 12-13 last year to "chart a new course for the Dalits in the 21st Century.''

Announcing the Cabinet's decision to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Bhopal Declaration, linked with the Dalit Conference held here last year, Mr. Singh said the forest-dweller would now become the true owner of the forestland. Henceforth, the Government's role would be that of a facilitator.

To a pointed query, he said the Government would distribute an additional Rs. 150 crores to the forest-dwellers. They were already receiving the entire profit from minor forest produce.

Reiterating the Government's resolve to distribute land to the landless SCs/STs families, Mr. Singh said 75,000 hectares was still available for distribution to the weaker sections after 1.5 lakh such families had already been given land ownership certificates. Land would be identified for those still landless. The Government was committed to distributing at least one hectare of land costing on an average Rs. 75,000 a hectare to every landless family.

The policy of reserving 30 per cent of all purchase orders relating to the SCs/STs Welfare Departments for entrepreneurs from these sections of people was now being extended further. Under the new regime, 30 per cent of all State Government purchase orders would now for go them. Even work department orders till Rs. 2 lakhs would now go straight to them. In the next five years, 25,000 SCs/STs unemployed people would get entrepreneurship training and loans. Grain banks would be set up in over 11,000 villages in the State, he added.

A decision had been taken to grant cent per cent scholarship every year to five SCs and five STs students for continuing their education abroad. For girl students till the Class V there would be a scholarship of Rs.150 a month.

Every SCs/STs girl student joining the ninth grade in Madhya Pradesh would now get a one-time incentive of Rs. 1,000, whereas girls entering the higher secondary stage would get Rs. 2,000. There was a plan to set up hostels for SC/ST students in every block of the State in next five years.

Those belonging to the SCs/STs categories would also be given arms licences for self-defence. In land-related cases, the SCs/STs Atrocities Act would be applied and, if necessary, entire villages would be fined.

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