Telangana to conduct caste census soon as promised, says Revanth Reddy

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has said that caste census will be taken up in Telangana soon as promised during the Assembly elections. The officials concerned have been asked to take necessary action to launch the caste census.

Revanth Reddy had this announcement while conducting a review meeting of BC, Minority and Tribal Welfare Departments at the Secretariat on Saturday.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister asked officials to furnish complete details of Gurukul schools functioning in rented buildings across the State. He instructed the officials to make proposals for permanent Gurukul buildings and that budget proposals would be prepared after estimating the cost of construction of each school.

The Chief Minister said that diet charges, cosmetic charges and cooking bills of Gurukul schools should be cleared soon and that payments would be made through green channels.

Revanth also asked officials to implement the Mahatma Jyotibhapule Overseas Scholarship Scheme more effectively. Officials have been asked to ensure more number of students avail benefits of the scheme . "A framework has to be prepared to identify top foreign universities based on the ranking of the institutions. Students who want to pursue higher education in top universities should be given priority while availing the benefits of the scheme," Revanth said.

The Chief Minister said that all the SC, ST and BC Gurukul institutions should be established in the Integrated Educational Hub instead of being set up in the different places. Revanth said that proposals should be prepared to build an integrated hub in every Assembly Constituency.

"The hubs will help in efficient management, supervision and administration of schools. Students will develop a competitive spirit and improve their talent by studying in the same campus," Revanth said.

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds would be mobilized for the construction of these buildings which would also be used for supply of blankets, notebooks, uniforms and books for students in Government welfare hostels.

Revanth also asked officials to prepare budget estimates of Kalyanamastu and Shaadi Mubarak schemes. He said that the establishment of BC study circles in every Parliamentary constituency would be looked into in the place of the existing study circles.

BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, ST Welfare Minister Seethakka, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari and other top officials participated in the review meeting.