Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to expedite the investigation of cases registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to ensure that the guilty were punished at the earliest and that the law was not misused.
Addressing a meeting of the State-level High-Power Committee on the implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and schemes for the welfare of SCs and STs at his camp office on Saturday, Mr. Naidu called for a special study into the relatively high number of atrocity cases against SCs and STs reported in Guntur, Anantapur, East Godavari and Prakasam districts.
He directed officials to examine the nature of the cases, the reasons behind them and the time taken for their disposal.
Mr. Naidu ordered a comprehensive study of the conditions that prevailed when the Justice Punnayya Commission submitted its report and the changes that had taken place since then, to identify necessary course corrections in the implementation of the Act. He stressed the need for all departments to work in coordination to ensure the economic empowerment of SCs and STs.
The Chief Minister also stressed the need to pay special attention to the education of students from SC and ST communities and enable them to compete for admission to premier institutions such as the IITs and IIMs. He said the government was spending substantial amounts on the development of SCs and STs.
He said effective utilisation of programmes such as P4 and Margadarsi Bangaru Kutumbam would help improve the living standards of SCs and STs. He directed the SC and ST Finance Corporations to undertake large-scale employment generation programmes.
Ministers Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, Vangalapudi Anitha and Gummadi Sandhyarani, MPs Tenneti Krishna Prasad and Daggumalla Prasada Rao, and MLAs from SC and ST constituencies were present.
Published – September 05, 2026 06:49 pm IST
