“After the formation of the State, the government has taken measures to provide work to handloom as well as powerloom weavers. The work of producing Bathukamma sarees was given to them. It is proposed to start an insurance scheme for all the handloom and powerloom workers on similar lines of Rythu Bima with a sum assured of ₹5 lakh during the next financial year,” announced Minister for Finance T. Harish Rao during his budget speech.
Mr. Harish Rao said that the Adivasi and Banjara Bhavans in the city have been taken up with an outlay of ₹72 crore and are ready for inauguration. Across the State, 32 Bhavans for adivasi girijans are also under construction.
Informing that Tribal and Adivasi festivals are now government festivals and Komaram Bheem’s Jayanti and the God of Banjaras Seva Lal Maharaj’s Jayanti are now celebrated as State festivals, he said that Sammakka Sarakka Jathara is also being celebrated as a State Jathara. During the current year, an allocation of ₹75 crore was made for the Sammakka Sarakka Jathara. Nagoba Jathara, Baurampur Jathara and Gangubai Jathara are also being celebrated by the government every year. For the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes, an allocation of ₹12,565 crores is proposed in the 2022-23 Budget.
Mr. Harish Rao said that the government has taken up a massive sheep distribution programme to Golla and Kuruma communities with a total outlay of ₹11,000 crore and with the physical target of distribution of 7.3 lakh units. The government has taken a programme of free distribution of fish and prawn seed in the different reservoirs of the State. The size of the fisheries sector has increased to ₹5,229 crore.
Referring to toddy tappers, the Minister said that they used to get an ex-gratia of only ₹2 lakh in case of accidental death. The government has now increased the same to ₹5 lakh. A historic decision was to allocate and reserve 15 % of wine shops to Goud community. For the welfare of the toddy tappers, it is proposed to start a special scheme with an outlay of ₹100 crore.
Promoting Neera
The government has brought a policy of marketing Neera as a soft drink. It is proposed that an amount of ₹20 crore would be used for production and distribution of Neera. In Nandanam village near Bhongir, Neera processing unit works are going on at a brisk pace. The Neera Cafe on the Necklace Road in Hyderabad is also going to start soon. The government has provided an extent of 87.3 acres of land for the construction of 41 BC community halls in the State capital and they are being taken up with an outlay of ₹95.25 crore. For the welfare of the BC communities an amount of ₹5,698 crores is proposed in the Budget. The Minister has also mentioned the steps taken up for the welfare of Brahmins and Archakas. Under the scheme of Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam, 3,645 temples of the State get a grant of ₹6,000 per temple per month to conduct pujas in the temple.
10% EWS quota
Government has now made a provision to provide 10 % reservation to economically weaker sections (EWS) and communities in government jobs as well as admissions to educational institutions. During the last seven years, an amount of ₹6,644 crore was spent for the welfare of the minority communities and the government has established 192 new residential schools for minorities and 50 % of them are for girls. The total number of minority residential schools in the State is now 204 and in these institutions 1,14,000 boys and girls are studying. “As far as education of minority girls is concerned, I am very proud to say that Telangana stands number one in the country,” said Mr. Harish Rao.
Referring to KCR kits, the Minister said that institutional deliveries in government hospitals has increased from 30.5 % to 56 % and so far 10,85,462 KCR kits were distributed and the government has also decided to introduce ‘KCR Nutrition Kits’ in nine districts — Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Bhadrachalam Kothagudem, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Kamareddy, Vikarabad, Mulugu, Jogulamba Gadwal and Nagarkurnool. Every year around 1.25 lakh women would benefit from the programme. The government has decided to distribute health and hygiene kits to all the girls who are studying in government schools and government junior colleges from Class VII upwards. The government has announced that one lakh building and construction workers would be given motorcycles on subsidy.
