The Dalita Hakkugala Horata Samiti and a few other organisations staged a protest in front of the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) on Monday, alleging that the MCC has not implemented work meant for the welfare of Dalits under 22.75 scheme.
Addressing protesters, Samiti Secretary Lingappa Nantoor charged that the government had reduced the allocations in the budget for 22.75 programme. In 2008, Rs four crore was allocated for the welfare of Dalits and now it had dropped to Rs 2.85 crore. After some amendments made by the state government, the subsidy for the houses has been halved to Rs 75,000 from Rs 1.5 lakh.
Scholarships to Dalit students pursuing higher studies has also been withdrawn from this year, he claimed.
Dalita Hakkugala Horata Samiti State Committee member Krishnappa Konchadi alleged that the MCC is not taking up any developmental work in Dalit colonies under 22.75 scheme. Funds reserved for the welfare of dalits are misused for the construction of temple arches, development of roads and other work in the areas dominated by rich and upper class communities, he added.
CPM Mangalore City Committee Secretary Sunil Kumar Bajal flayed the MCC for not responding to the demands of Dalits. The protesters submitted a memorandum to Joint Commissioner Srikanth Rao, urging him to fulfill their demands at the earliest.
Responding to the request, the Joint Commissioner said that the MCC has already written to the government informing about the demands of Dalits and the issues will be addressed within a month.
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