A special session of the state Legislature would soon be convened to discuss the effective implementation of the Plan in light of a report submitted to the chief minister this afternoon by a Cabinet Sub-committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha.
"This is only a beginning...A new chapter in the state history. Though the Special Component Plans were in place for SCs and STs for long, they were never implemented properly and the funds allocated were never fully spent. But now, we will give the plan a legal frame and ensure the allocated funds are spent in toto without any cuts," Reddy said.
Under the SC Plan, the government made a budgetary allocation of Rs 8,657 crore and Rs 4,060 crore under the ST plan in the 2012-13 state budget, he said.
The Cabinet would first consider the sub-committee report followed by a special session of the Legislature.
"This is not vote bank politics...We will whole-heartedly work for the uplift of the downtrodden sections," the chief minister said.
"Theory will always be good but there will be problems in practically implementing the plans. Continuous monitoring and fine-tuning are required for effective implementation of the plans," he said.
Reddy said the focus of the Special Component Plan would be on improving education and medical facilities to the SCs and STs besides creating employment. "Their present as well as future should be better," he observed.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the sub-committee carried out an elaborate exercise for over four months by holding discussions with all stakeholders in preparing the report.
"Apart from other issues, focus should be on improving education of girl child," he said.
Ministers J Geeta Reddy, Dokka Manikya Varaprasad, S Sailajanath and others were present.
