It has been more than a year after the Congress made the SC/ST Declaration. However, most promises are not fulfilled.
Published Feb 01, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 01, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressing the public rally at Chevella where he released the SC and ST Declaration on 26 August 2023. (X)
More than a year after unveiling the Cheluvella SC/ST Declaration, the ruling Congress in Telangana has not implemented many of the promises made to the backward communities.
The Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Declaration was unveiled with much fanfare at the Poru Garjana public meeting held in the presence of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on 26 August 2023.
The Declaration, made ahead of the Telangana Assembly elections, promised a slew of measures benefitting the SC/ST communities.
Recently, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka assured the SC/ST communities that he would take up the responsibility of implementing the promises made in the Declaration.
However, the promises were yet to be completely implemented, even as the polls to the local self-government bodies are overdue in the state.
Before the state went to the polls in December 2023, A Revanth Reddy announced the Congress’s promises. He called upon the people to greet his promises with applause that would reach K Chandrashekar Rao, the BRS chief.
The crowd obliged. The Chevella SC/ST Declaration became a vehicle the Congress banked on, besides its six guarantees and promises to the youth and farmers, to ride to power.
Subsequently, the Declaration became a chapter in the Congress’s election manifesto. The Congress listed 12 promises covering reservations, financial assistance, land assignments, and development plans. The promises included:
In the Telangana Legislative Assembly, 20 seats are reserved for the SC community and 12 for the ST community. In the 2023 election, the Congress won 15 SC constituencies and nine of the ST segments.
Apart from the Declaration, the Congress also made three other guarantees: the recognition of the Sammakka-Saralamma festival as a national festival was the first assurance.
The party also promised to include the Madasi Kuruva and Madari communities in the SC category, besides adding the Valmiki Boya community to the ST category.
More than a year on, the Madasi Kuriva, Madari, and the Valmiki Boyas are still outside the SC and ST categories, respectively.
The move to declare the Sammakka-Saralamma festival as a national festival ran into rough weather with the Union Culture Minister and Secunderabad MP G Kishan Reddy dismissing Telangana’s plea. He said that there was no mechanism to declare any event as a national festival.
Recently, the Telangana government sanctioned ₹1.88 crore for the reconstruction of the Sammakka-Saralamma temple at Medaram.
The government also set up the Komaram Bheem, Santh Seva Lal, and Erukula corporations for ST communities, and separate Mala and Madiga corporations. This was announced alongside ₹50,000 crore allocated to the SC and ST development funds in the July budget.
Corporations promised for sub-categories have not been established. The promise of rolling out the Sammakka Sarakka Girijana Graminabhivruddhi Pathalam, a scheme granting ₹25 lakh to each Tanda and Gudem gram panchayats, too, has not been implemented.
The promise of establishing Integrated Tribal Development Agencies in five districts — Mahbubabad, Nizamabad, Khammam, Nalgonda, and Mahabubnagar — too, did not materialise.
The Congress also promised the Vidya Jyothula Pathakam. Under this scheme, the government would provide assistance of ₹10,000, ₹15,000, ₹25,000, ₹1 lakh, and ₹5 lakh to students completing their 10 class, intermediate, graduation, post-graduation, and doctoral degrees. This scheme too, is yet to come into effect.
Another guarantee to establish an SC and ST residential school in every Mandal, too, remains unfulfilled.
There were also the promises of reservations. However, Congress is facing issues with the sub-categorization of sub-castes within the reservations. It is also struggling with implementing the reservations in private firms and educational institutions.
While the chief minister has asked for a report on the implementation of reservations in private universities, nothing much has happened.
However, the pucca houses’ promise is currently taking shape. The Congress promised assistance of ₹6 lakh for building houses under the Indramma Housing Scheme.
It also stated it would take a saturation approach in implementing the scheme. At the same time, the Congress is also yet to begin the Ambedkar Abhaya Hastha.
Under the scheme, the Congress has promised to provide ₹12 lakh over the next five years. The Congress also stated that it would make the necessary budgetary allocations. However, it did not find a mention in the July Budget.
The Congress has cited the state’s financial difficulties as the reason for the delay in implementing the poll promises. It claims that the BRS has left the state deep in debt.
With the budget season due in February, it remains to be seen whether the Congress will make good on its promises.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
