Around 5,000 beneficiaries, who established various business units with the financial assistance given as first installment by the previous BRS government, are facing difficulties in running their units as they cannot carry out transactions after their bank accounts were frozen by the current government.

Karimnagar: Despite repeated protests from beneficiaries of the Dalit Bandhu Schemethe state government remained indifferent on the issue of frozen accounts of Dalit Bandhufor which orders were issued shortly after the Congress Government came to power in the state in December 2023.

Around 5,000 beneficiaries, who set up various business units with the financial assistance given as first installment by the previous BRS government, are facing difficulties in running their units as they are unable to carry out transactions after their bank accounts collapsed. been frozen by the current government.

They campaigned to demand that the accounts be unfrozen. MP from Huzurabad Padi Kaushik Reddy he too is fighting on behalf of Dalits, since most of the beneficiaries are from his constituency.

A recent rally by Dalits in the city of Huzurabad to demand the release of the second installment turned violent, with police attempting to quell the protest. While a few Dalits were injured, Kaushik Reddy was admitted to the hospital because he had breathing problems. However, there has been no response from the state government on this issue.

According to SC Corporation sources, Dalit Bandhu disbursements worth around Rs 260 crore, ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 7.5 lakh, were pending in Karimnagar.

In order to bring a comprehensive change in the lives of Dalits, former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had launched the Dalit Bandhu program from Shalapalli-Indiranagar, Huzurabad Mandal on August 16, 2021.

Initially, the project was implemented in Huzurabad assembly constituency on a pilot basis. Later it was expanded to other parts of the state. It was implemented inclusively in Huzurabad segment, where a total of 18,021 beneficiaries of different mandates were selected. Rs 1,784.79 crore has been approved to ground 16,149 units.

The total amount of Rs.10 lakh was given to the beneficiaries, who had selected large units such as passenger transport vehicles, supermarkets, tractors, JCBs, DCMs, excavators, minibuses, trucks tipper and others.

Meanwhile, Rs.5 lakh was given to beneficiaries, who had opted for small units such as Kirana stores, mini markets, welding workshops, kangan rooms and other units.

The second installment of Rs.5 lakh was also deposited in the accounts of the beneficiaries. Although the total amount of Rs.10 lakh was deposited in their bank accounts, some of the beneficiaries had not started their units.

Instead of creating units, a few beneficiaries allegedly tried to withdraw the interest amount, following which the state government ordered the district collector to freeze all the bank accounts of Dalit Bandhu. Based on the government’s instructions, the collector on December 13, 2023 ordered the bankers to freeze the accounts.

Since then, the situation has not changed, with SC Corporation officials refusing to comment on the matter.