Parliamentary committee on SC, ST welfare meets

: A Parliamentary Committee on welfare of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe, which is on tour to Himachal held a meeting with the chief secretary and senior officers of the state government here on Wednesday.

Presiding over the meeting, chairman of the committee Dr Kirit P Solanki said a SC and ST commission should be constituted in Himachal on the analogy of many other states of the country. “Strict action must be initiated in the cases of atrocities against the scheduled castes and scheduled tribe,” he said, adding that a lot of incidents of atrocities are reported in the country but they are not reported properly. He urged for establishing fast track courts for speedy disposal of such cases.

Further, Solanki expressed satisfaction over the activities being undertaken by the state government for the welfare of these sections.

The HP government has been spending 25.19% of the state budget on scheduled caste sub-plan while ₹65 crore had been earmarked under scheduled tribe sub-plan for the year 2107-18, chief secretary Vineet Chaudhary said while highlighting various schemes and programmes being implemented for the welfare of these sections in the state.