The Government of India continues to strengthen the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 through regular monitoring, timely financial assistance and close coordination with States and Union Territories under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme.

This information was given by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Ramdas Athawale in a written reply Dr Mallu Ravi in the Lok Sabha.

The Minister informed that a Central-level Committee, constituted under the chairpersonship of the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment on 29 March 2006, regularly reviews the implementation of the Scheme and the provisions of the two Acts. Since its constitution, the Committee has held 29 meetings, with the latest meeting convened on 8 January 2026.

The reply further informed that proposals received from States and Union Territories are processed expeditiously. Clarifications sought from the Governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Tripura have since been received, enabling further processing of their proposals under the Scheme.

With regard to Telangana, the Minister stated that the State Government has submitted its proposal for financial assistance for 2026-27, including assistance for providing incentives to inter-caste married couples where one spouse belongs to the Scheduled Caste community. He said in accordance with the Scheme guidelines, the Central Government has released ₹30.52 crores to the State.

The reply also informed that, to ensure uninterrupted implementation of the Scheme, the Ministry released a token amount of ₹128.4327 crores in April 2026 through Mother Sanction on the SNA-SPARSH platform, even before receiving proposals from the States and Union Territories. Subsequently, the second instalment of Central Assistance has also been released to eligible States and Union Territories whose proposals fulfilled the prescribed requirements.

The Government remains committed to ensuring effective implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 by extending timely financial support, strengthening institutional monitoring and working closely with States and Union Territories to safeguard the rights, dignity and welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

PR – 039 – TAR/KV/GA

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