K’taka to implement welfare programmes for SC/STs

PTI, May 20, 2022, 8:00 PM IST

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai-led SC, ST State Development Council on Friday gave approval to the implementation of various welfare programmes of more than Rs 28,000 crore under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) for Scheduled Castes and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP).

Speaking to reporters, Bommai said the council took stock of the utilisation of allocations of last year and funds remaining unspent. Some of the programmes were cleared with some modifications and most of the programmes were approved without any changes.

Allocation for Social Welfare Department has been raised by Rs 500 crore, the Rs 851-crore grant for Agriculture Department has been increased to Rs 1,061 crore, the grant for Horticulture Department has been increased to Rs 187 crore from Rs 142 crore, the grant for Health Department has been hiked to Rs 1,300 crore from Rs 899 crore, Bommai said.

The amount reserved for pensions in the Revenue Department has been raised to Rs 3,748 crore from Rs 2,900 crore. A sum of Rs 20 crore has been allocated for development of places visited by Dr B R Ambedkar in the State. It has been decided to issue free bus passes for students from the SC/ST community, he said.