BC Associations demand Two lakh crore allocation for BC welfare in upcoming union budget
Hyderabad: Several BC associations demanded a budget allocation of Two lakh crore for the welfare of BC communities in the upcoming union budget. Around 14 BC associations came together and convened a meeting in BC bhavan, Vidyanagar on Sunday. Further the BC leaders wrote a letter to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi suggesting a list of demands for the welfare of the BC community.
The other demands put up by the BC association include implementation of post-matric scholarship and fee reimbursement schemes for BCs nationwide, providing an 80% matching grant to states. They called for the removal of conditions to disburse loans by the National BC Finance Corporation and allocation of annual budget Rs 50,000 crore to the corporation, providing loans with 80% subsidy to BC families. Further the associations demanded the filling of 14 lakh vacant positions in various central government departments.
Speaking on the occasion National BC Welfare Association President and Rajya Sabha MP R
Krishnaiah criticized central governments with their lackadaisical attitude in allocating sufficient budgets. He further highlighted the need for sufficient budget allocation for the educational, economic, and social advancement of BCs. Lamenting on the same R Krishnaiah said, “The central government has been neglecting BC while allocating budget. He pointed out that in the current year, the central budget stands at Rs 45.90 lakh crore, of which only Rs 2,000 crore was allocated for BCs. This is a grave injustice”.
Krishnaiah emphasized that despite 30 years of implementation of reservations in central government jobs and educational institutions following the Mandal Commission recommendations, scholarship and fee reimbursement schemes have not been initiated. He urged that the central government match 60% of the grants provided by state governments for these schemes.Although states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra are implementing scholarship and fee reimbursement schemes, but the central government is not providing the matching grants.
The meeting was presided by Gujja Krishna convenor of National BC welfare Associations, and a letter was subsequently sent to the Prime Minister.Participants in the meeting included Erra Satyanarayana, Rajender, Ananthayya, Nandagopal, Vemula Ramakrishna, Pagilla Satish, Ravinder, Nikhil, and Hemant.
