A total of 571 acres of land was distributed among the 198 beneficiaries belonging to SC community here on Thursday.
Giving away the land rights, Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari said the scheme was meant to boost the self-respect of the Dalits.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Srihari said that the previous government had imposed financial burden on the beneficiaries in distributing half-acre land. But the TRS government has been bearing all the costs in procuring the land through the SC Corporation and in distributing land to the select Dalit families.
The land would help the labourers become proud owners of land. Those who got the land should not sell it away, but cultivate it and derive economic benefit from it, he said. The government has so far spent Rs. 44.67 crore to procure 870 acres land to distribute among 310 Dalits. He asked the district Collector to prepare action plan to distribute land to another 1,000 beneficiaries by June 2. Tribal Welfare Minister A. Chandulal asked the Dalits to make use of the land in a proper manner and educate their children. The government was planning to provide beds to students staying at tribal welfare hostels by the coming June.
