GUWAHATI, Dec 30 � Minister of Agriculture and Welfare of Plain Tribes and Backward Classes Pramila Rani Brahma on Thursday asserted that the economic uplift of the scheduled caste community in the State was one of the important priorities of the Government and that several major schemes were launched to ensure improvement in the living standards of the community.
Addressing media persons here, Brahma said that in view of the deplorable living condition of the community, the Directorate of Welfare of SC, Assam in the last five years implemented several schemes such as financial assistance to scheduled caste family below the poverty line, vocational training, training on health, access to safe drinking water etc.
It needs to be mentioned here that as per the 2001 census, the total scheduled caste population in the State is 18,25,949 constituting 6.85 percent of the entire population of Assam. The literacy rate of the community stands at 66.78 percent as against 63.25 percent of the total population of the State.
�We are focusing on economic development of the scheduled caste people through family oriented programmes, infrastructure development in the scheduled caste dominated areas and promoting education,� said Brahma adding that as part of the family oriented development programmes, 84,349 families below poverty line received financial assistance to the tune of Rs 10,000 each in the period from 2005-06 to 2010.
Brahma further said that during this time itself the Directorate of Welfare of SC, Assam provided vocational training to 2323 individuals, extended grants to 256 private educational institutions, provided tractors and power tillers to Self Help Groups (SHG) and cultivators as well as offered financial help to 700 couples to get married.
Brahma mentioned that education was important for development and that the directorate has taken up projects to ensure proper academic ambience for the students of the scheduled caste community by constructing boys and girls hostels, providing financial incentive to meritorious girl students etc.
On the other hand, Brahma informed that the directorate has proposed to provide computers to 600 scheduled caste youth already trained in computers and establish 100 scheduled caste model villages.
