CM goes lavish on SCs, STs

• Grants Rs 10 lakh to students pursuing education abroad
• To provide another Rs 5 lakh as bank loan
• To distribute land to landless SCs and STs
• House construction cost raised to Rs 65,000
• Opens Stree Shakti Bhavan in Karvetinagaram

Chittoor: The State government will give a grant of Rs 10 lakh to SC and ST students for pursuing higher education abroad and also will provide another Rs 5 lakh as bank loan, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has announced. Participating as the chief guest in the Indiramma Kalalu programme at Karvetinagaram mandal of Gangadhara Nellore constituency in Chittoor district, he showered boons on SCs and STs on the occasion of Dr BR Ambedkar's 122nd birth anniversary. He also explained the benefits of SC, ST sub-plan. The Chief Minister said that the government would purchase one acre for Rs 5 lakh and distribute it to SCs and STs. Keeping in view the recent hike in prices, the house construction unit cost has been raised from Rs 32,000 to Rs 65,000 and the government will sanction up to Rs 1 lakh to the incomplete houses of SCs and STs. Free power up to 50 units would be provided to their houses for which the government would pay Rs 5.25 paise for each unit, he said. The amount allotted to purchase land for landless poor had been increased from Rs one lakh to Rs 5 lakh, he announced. Kiran Reddy said Indiramma Kalalu programme had been initiated so that the funds meant for SCs and STs would reach them without brokers in between. He announced the sanctioning Rs 50 lakh for the construction of Ambedkar Bhavan in Karvetinagaram mandal. He assured that the officials concerned would solve the problems of the land that had been distributed to SCs and STs in Surendranagar within 15 days.Gangadhara Nellore MLA G Kutuhalamma presided over the function in which PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana, district Ministers Galla Aruna Kumari, Pithani Satyanarayana, district in-charge Minister K Parthasaradhi, former Minister Chenga Reddy, former speaker Agarala Eswar Reddy, Chittoor MLA CK Jayachandra Reddy, Puthalapattu MLA Dr Ravi, District Collector Solomon Arokia Raj, Joint Collector Vinay Chand and several officials had participated in the programme. Inaugurations and ground-breaking ceremonies. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy inaugurated Stree Shakti Bhavan with Rs 30 lakh, a guest house costing Rs 1.25 crore and a 33/11 kv substation of Rs 1.05 crore and laid foundation stone to R&B guest house to be constructed at a cost of Rs 75 lakh in Karvetinagaram mandal on Sunday. After the public meeting, the CM distributed property worth Rs 223.56 crore to the beneficiaries.