The State government has decided to provide a pair of milch cows to 13,000 families belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes next month.
Minister for Social Welfare H. Anjaneya said here on Tuesday that the scheme will cost Rs. 104 crore.
Of the 13,000 beneficiaries, 10,000 belong to the SC and the remaining are ST. The Minister said each pair costs Rs. 1 lakh, and the government will provide 75 per cent subsidy to the beneficiaries.
Mr. Anjaneya said the cows would be certified by the officials of the Animal Husbandry Department.
Recruitment of priestsThe government now plans to recruit youth from the SC and ST as priests in temples run by the Muzrai Department. Mr. Anjaneya said, “We will provide training in the Vedas, rituals and Sanskrit to the SC, ST youth, who wish to become priests.” After the training, they will be posted in temples that generate a lot of revenue.
There are nearly 40,000 temples belonging to the Muzrai Department in the State, he said.
A large number of temples are facing severe financial difficulties owing to negligible support from the government, and very few devotees visit them. The revenue of more than 30,000 temples is below Rs. 1 lakh a year.
Mr. Anjaneya said recruitment of SC, ST men and women as priests would help eliminate caste barriers in society.
A meeting with the Muzrai Department would be held to find out the number of vacancies of priests existing in temples, he said.
