Block Placement Siddipet ,Telangana

Introduction

I, Vijendra Kumar, along with Bodhi Chakma and Gajraj Solankee was placed in the center for Dalit Studies( CDS) Siddipet, Telangana. Mr.Mallepalli Laxmaiah is the chairman of the CDS.

Centre for Dalit studies is a nonprofit organization established in 1999. It works towards creating awareness about social, political and economic rights of Dalit communities.

It also works with government on policy-making and analyses the welfare schemes.

Tasks

The state of Telangana has introduced many welfare schemes for Scheduled Caste and Schedule tribe people in the state such as Kalyana Lakshmi scheme, Residentials schools, and Land purchase schemes etc. So We were given the tasks to analyze these welfare policies of Telangana Government.

Land purchase scheme: In this scheme up to 3 acre land is provided to Dalit families in the name of a woman. In order to empower landless Dalit family, this is great has been taken at the policy level by the government as 3 lakhs Schedule caste families are landless in the state and 3 lakhs Dalits families are having less than 3-acre land.

Therefore the government promised to give these 6 lakhs Dalit families 18 lakhs acre land as each family up 3-acre land. But still only 13662.37-acre land has been distributed to 5378 Dalit families. So the government has done less than one percent (0.75%).

If we see this scheme at the policy level in terms of poverty eradication and to empower the landless Dalit this is the great scheme I have come across but when it comes to implementation on the ground it is just a scheme. During my research, I have across many farmers who got the land were saying the land which has been given us has

●       Not having irrigation and water facility

●       Some parts of the lands are not cultivable

●       Having no electricity and Bore facility

●       Patta land converting assign land and found problems

Therefore we met with the head of SC corporation department. He was discussing with farmers about these problems that there are going through but it has been 4 years since this scheme was implemented what these government officials have been doing. When I asked him after meeting that there is no water facility and electricity how they will cultivate the land then he said we are working on that.

These I have seen him in the two-three meeting with farmers but he never came up with a solution he used to say in every village that we are working on that.

One thing I also have come across is that the government has taken away some farmers land for the industrial purpose with the promise that it will give 6 lakhs against each acre but still there are many farmers who have been not paid a single amount against their land.

Kalyana Lakshmi scheme is an also a welfare scheme initiated by Telangana government to alleviate the financial distress of SC and ST families by giving Rs. 100116 during their girl's marriages. The scheme empowered the bride and their families to take better decisions in regard to the choice of the bridegroom, timely arrangement of the marriage and the overall expenses for the wedding. Due to financial constraints, parents often make compromises or they have to marry off their daughter in before 18 years.

So since this scheme was launched with 51000 Rs. the child marriage rate has also come down now people do not marry their daughter before 18 years.

Table : Application registered and beneficiaries under Kalyana laxmi scheme

Year	No. of districts	No. of application registered	No. of  beneficiaries	Percentage
2014-015	10	5452	5115	93.81
2015-016	10	32419	30620	94.40
2016-2017	68	24101	22454	93.16
2017-2018	68	26049	25223	96.82
Total	156	88021	83412	94.76

The data has been taken through RTI in August 2018

If we see the above table about 95% application has been given the amount which is a good percentage but still, 4609 applications (88021-83412) are pending. And the 2018-2019 data are not included in this which shows 24712 application has received and only 12535 are the beneficiaries

If we included 2018-19 data then total no. of the pending application becomes 16786 which yet to be paid.

The Kalyana Laxmi scheme has been a good initiative and society has a great impact of it but still, some steps need to be taken to make this scheme more successful and more beneficiary towards the society. As we see lots of applications are still pending and there is no transparency whether that there are pending or they are being rejected. The education criteria could be included which would help in girls education or the  Amount can be set according to brides education qualification. A lot of welfare schemes and measures for rehabilitation are available to prevent child marriage of girls. But, there is very little focus on boys as the NFHS survey says that 18.1 percent of men in Telangana are married off before they attain the legal age of 21 so to curb the child marriage of boys grooms age also should be mandatory in this scheme.

Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS): TSWREIS is running 268 residential educational institutions (from 5th standard to Undergraduate level) in the state of Telangana under the Ministry of Scheduled Caste Development, Government of Telangana.

The state has a good model of schools which providing quality education deprived and marginalized students with good facility food, surveillance, resident and water, and sanitation.

We have visited some junior colleges and felt that it could be the good model of schools for other states. We were quite satisfied with teaching pedagogy which they have but we were not satisfied with water and sanitation facility over there.  

Learning

Research: while working with CDS on policy-making and policy assessment I learned Research skills because we had to lot of research to understand the work and understand the impact of the policy.

Policy and Implementation: We make big policies or schemes but when it comes to implementation we are failed. Any welfare schemes are useless if it is not being implemented on the ground. Giving 3 acres land to landless farmers is a good initiative but only 0.75% landless farmers got land even the government could not achieve 1% of its target.

Intervention in the policy level: Many Dalit and tribal activists working towards the empowering the Dalits and Tribals in terms of educationally, socially, economically and politically by working in different ways. But I feel that, after working with CDS,  we can influence a mass public by making a good welfare policy or scheme which can bring a sustainable development.

Power distribution or centralization: During research, I have come across a Sarpanch from Ananthasagar village who is a Dalit. I found that the village had a good governance by sarpanch. He delivers all schemes or services on times like 2BHK house, Old Age pension, drinking water and so on. He has set up a good surveillance system in his village so they can prevent theft and murder incidents in villages. In a small village, a sarpanch is working towards the empowering the village why at every stage of governance it is not happening like this.

Socio-economic situation of Dalits and tribals:  whenever we used to visit we see the Statue of  Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar before entering the village. We have visited many villages and in most of the villages, I found statues over there. There are not merely statue they show the history of the struggle of  Dalits. Every statue of  Dr.Ambedkar  has a history.  And we found that Dalits are aware of their rights. They have a good household and they were not all illiterate. Although caste discrimination is existing they struggle. But when it comes to tribal people their condition is not so good. They are very marginalized and deprived than Dalits.

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Data Collected by RTI  on 20/08/2018